The Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Committee on Employment, Richard Quashigah has vehemently criticized government over the introduction of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), saying it is not the solution to the incessant unemployment rate in the country.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, launched NABCO which will employ, in this year alone, 100,000 graduates to assist in the public sector service delivery needs of Ghana.

“NABCO will be the vehicle to deliver one hundred thousand (100,000) jobs in seven (7) prioritised areas, defined as the following modules: Educate Ghana; Heal Ghana; Feed Ghana; Revenue Ghana; Digitise Ghana; Enterprise Ghana; and Civic Ghana” the President said, adding that “NABCO will enhance the dignity and self-esteem of our graduates, and will also present them with the added benefit of efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of some essential public services.”

Making a submission on the programme, Mr. Quashigah stated that the move is a cosmetic approach to solving unemployment.

“This does not show how innovative government is. Government is only rehashing an old story. National Youth Employment Agency is supposed to be engaging young people under similar conditions,” the Member of Parliament for Keta noted.

Participants are expected to earn a non-taxable income of GH¢700 but the legislator says the stipend is woefully not enough.

“If somebody finishes National Service and is being engaged and paid GHC 700, how will that impact on the forward march of that individual? Would you say that you’re giving that individual decent wages? I don’t think so” he fumed. “The Akufo-Addo government has only scratched the surface of the problem; it has not touched the core of the issue.”

Quashigah further questioned how sustainable the programme would be while reiterating that the Akufo-Addo-led administration has failed to create jobs despite their promise to tackle the issue head-on.



“They need to think outside the box, bring together stakeholders and come out, fashion out more pragmatic, more acceptable and realistic challenge in dealing with the challenge confronting us. This programme is not different from the YEA programme. Why create a new entity out of the exiting one?” he queried.