NABCO Not Unemployment Solution – ASEPA

The Alliance for Social Equity & Public Accountability (ASEPA), has said that the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) programme to be launched on Tuesday, 1 May 2018, is not a panacea to unemployment in Ghana.

ASEPA is demanding “a sustainable medium- to long-term plan geared towards the total reduction, and, if possible, elimination of graduate unemployment in the country”.

This was contained in a press statement signed and issued by ASEPA Executive Secretary, Mensah Thompson, on Monday, 30 April 2018.

The Nation Builders Corps will initially operate seven modules designed to meet the pressing needs of the nation while providing jobs for the teeming youth who have received tertiary education but are struggling to find jobs.

Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who announced the launch of this major initiative on Saturday 21st April, 2018 at Winneba, said 100,000 graduates who have completed their National Service are expected to be engaged under NABCO this year.

Vice-President Bawumia made the disclosure when he addressed the 2016/2017 graduates of the University of Education, Winneba at the University’s 22nd Congregation.

However, ASEPA has recommended that government roll out the programme on a pilot basis so that it can adequately assess all the implementation difficulties.

“We would also advice that the recruitment process for the programme be made more transparent and inclusive enough so that the programme doesn’t become another ‘political cow’ that doesn’t solve any real problem but everyone wants to milk,” the release added.

Below is the full statement:

NATION BUILDERS CORPS NOT A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION TO GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT, GATHER ENOUGH DATA ON UNEMPLOYMENT FIRST-ASEPA

So as government prepares to launch its flagship programme, the Nation Builders Corp, we demand a sustainable medium to long term plan geared towards the total reduction and if possible elimination of graduate unemployment in the country.

It is estimated that there are about 25-45 thousand unemployed graduates in the country according unofficial sources.
Early this year, government promised to provide stakeholders, policy analyst and civil society data on unemployment in the country.

Now government is set to launch its flagship programme supposed to be one of the solutions for the unemployment menace when adequate data on unemployment in the country is still unavailable.

How then can stakeholders monitor, measure and track the progress of such programs in the general reduction of the unemployment menace?

At the end of the day this is just another temporary solution to a prevailing problem.

We will continuously remind government to as a matter of urgency provide us with data on unemployment, so that policy analysts, academia and industry can come together to draw sustainable strategies to eliminate/reduce drastically graduate unemployment within the next 10-15years and advise government accordingly.

We would also recommend that government roll out the Nation Builders Corp programme on a pilot basis so that it can adequately assess all the implementation difficulties but most importantly draw valuable lessons from the YEA programme and other like programmes before rolling out on a large scale to avoid overlapping costs, seal all leakages and wastages and also ensure adequate productivity and efficiency in the programme.

We would also advice that the recruitment process for the programme be made more transparent and inclusive enough so that the programme doesn’t become another ‘”Political cow” that doesn’t solve any real problem but everyone wants to milk.

Signed
Mensah Thompson
Executive Secretary-ASEPA

Cc.
Office of the President
Council of State
Minister for Employment and Labour Relations
Minister for Finance
Minister for Education
CoTVET
All Media Houses

Source: ClassFMonline