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Trainees of the Nation’s Builders Corps (NABco) are in tears over what they say is undue delay in the payment of their stipends or monthly allowances.
According to the Coalition of NABCO Trainees (CONAT) three years after they were engaged by the government amid the fanfare and pomp that surrounded the launch of the programme, theirs have been pain and agony as they always have to borrow to feed due to the delay in the payment of their allowances.
A statement issued yesterday by CONAT signed by its Public Relations Officer, Eric Nana Takyi and the Patron, Nana Barimah Asamoah, said “Basically, Coalition of Nabco Trainees is deeply disgruntled with the ingrained delays of Monthly stipends payment which worsens beneficiaries daily grind, and renders many debtors and penniless who cannot boast of any savings almost 3 years they got enrolled on the scheme.
“We equally share the sentiments/bruises of colleagues whose restless efforts to get their bulk arrears paid seemingly face post-election bad debts. In the ensuing days, CONAT will petition stakeholders to exhume the residue of arrears engulfed the scheme so that no hard working Trainee will finally leave the program being filled with agony and resentments”, the statement added.
CONAT also questioned the sincererity of the government’s exit plan for trainees as nothing has so far been done for those exiting the scheme or programme.
This is the full text of the CONAT statement;
COALITION OF NABCO TRAINEES (CONAT)
For Immediate Release
19/04/2020
NABCO MATTERS ARISING. CONAT READY TO HOLD GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE ON ITS PROMISES.
Basically, Coalition of Nabco Trainees is deeply disgruntled with the ingrained delays of Monthly stipends payment which worsens beneficiaries daily grind, and renders many debtors and penniless who cannot boast of any savings almost 3 years they got enrolled on the scheme.
We equally share the sentiments/bruises of colleagues whose restless efforts to get their bulk arrears paid seemingly face post-election bad debts. In the ensuing days, CONAT will petition stakeholders to exhume the residue of arrears engulfed the scheme so that no hard working Trainee will finally leave the program being filled with agony and resentments.
In addition, CONAT’s attention has been drawn to uncertainties looming among Trainees concerning the exit pathways which optioned to usher beneficiaries into the permanent mainstream works, and resource section who chose to venture into Entrepreneurship.
We urge Nabco Trainees not to be traumatized but only remain resolute and hardworking at post, as the partial commitment is encumbrance, mandatory and consistent on the part of the government to see to the realization of a brighter and much promising pathways which will engage beneficiaries after the contract without being retrograded to their previous unemployed state. Government attempts to renege on its promise will be an apparent achilles heel rendering insignificant impact on its touted efforts by the Nabco scheme to alleviating the teeming number of graduates unemployment. CONAT with massive support of Trainees is opined to hold the government accountable.
Recently, an Article was spotted on Joy News which reports a gentleman called Mr Percy Opata; believed to be a Coordinator at Tema, who cited to have cautioned Trainees to subscribe to entrepreneurship and stop chasing nonexistent white-color jobs. On the contrary, CONAT offers the following reservations:
1. His submission is welcoming but too late, and dead on arrival. We believe Trainees should have been thoroughly educated, mentored and enthused to prioritize the quest of entrepreneurship over other options at the Career Training sections organized at district level prior to the election which were unfortunately turned to podiums of partisan outreach and campaigns. Hence, such concern shared and stimulated at the closure of the application offers no exponential impact.
2. We believe there are enough spaces to mechanize Trainees as we constantly witness fresh recruitments at the various institutions where Trainees are working. This is evidence of ample spaces available to absorb Trainees only if stakeholders are committed to reward their sacrifices.
Finally, an observation is made on a development by an illicit group imploring Trainees to pay ¢30 each as their individual district collections to cite and appreciate coordinators and RTCs for their contributions in Trainees bid for permanent employment. This is unfortunate and disgusting. CONAT doesn’t blame such illegitimate grouping but the proliferation of their activities capitalized on the indiscipline, deficient structures and monitoring on the scheme.
CONAT begrudges no Trainee who individually gifts his/her coordinator but any unaccounted and unscrupulous collections and imposition implored by illicit group which operates through a forged and compromised corporate identity is unacceptable, condemnable and must be strictly prohibited. Inasmuch as Coordinators are supposed to be cited by their employer but not ridiculously Nabco Trainees, CONAT recognizes such collections as a clear inbred extortion, a canker of palm-greesing and symbolic corruption which must be a distant miles away from True Nation Builders.
CONAT by this communique urges all Nabco Trainees to be cautious as graduates and never be leveraged as race-horses for other Lazy Colleagues to build Cheap popularity.
Regards from CONAT-TEAM
PRO; Eric Nana Takyi, 054 657 2070
Patron; Nana Barimah Asamoah, 0591834556.