TUC describes National Builders Corps as ambitious

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has described the government’s new jobs programme, the Nation Builders Corps, as the most ambitious jobs programme designed to address what has become the “most critical economic challenge” of the country.

“Providing jobs for 100,000 graduates in the sectors outlined in the budget will significantly improve public service delivery. It will also signal to young people who have invested so much time and money in their education that education pays. The benefits will far exceed the cost of the programme,” it stated.

A preliminary statement issued by the TUC on the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, as presented to Parliament last Wednesday, however, noted that details of the programme were not made available.

The statement, which was signed by the Secretary-General of the TUC, Dr Yaw Baah, said a more detailed analysis/assessment would follow soon.

“For example, how many years will the programme employ the graduates? Is it going to be one year like the National Service Scheme? These are but a few of the important questions that need to be addressed as the government prepares to roll out the programme in 2018,” it said.

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Decent jobs

The statement said the 100,000 graduates to be employed in 2018 would at some point transit into the mainstream labour market after they had acquired further skills and experience so that others could also benefit from the programme.

It added that strengthening the domestic private sector to absorb the beneficiaries of the Nation Builders Corps programme would ease that transition.

It also noted that the TUC, in its budget proposals to the government, pointed out the need for the government to “go beyond the rhetoric” and outline practical measures to address the employment challenge.

It said the TUC urged the government to implement policies that created jobs in their right quantities and quality.

Trade policy

The statement said the TUC had also taken note of the several other initiatives announced by the minister in the budget statement, including the removal/reduction of taxes, as well as the proposed reduction in energy tariffs intended to create the enabling environment for the expansion of the private sector, and described the measures as commendable.

It also said an important area that needed urgent attention was Ghana’s trade policy, which it said remained unfair to local manufacturers and farmers, especially livestock farmers.

“We need a very radical review of our trade policy to protect our manufacturers and farmers. Ghana also needs to work with other countries in the ECOWAS region to secure the sub-regional market for our private sector,” it stated.

Cost of borrowing

The statement said the TUC expected to hear more about the measures the government was going to implement to bring down the cost of borrowing.

It said the private sector in Ghana had suffered so much unfairness, especially in the areas of trade, and high cost of production  in terms of access to credit, compared to its counterparts in other countries that were trading with Ghana, including China, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa.

“The private sector needs the support of the state, at least for a specified period, to enable local entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and to create decent jobs for Ghanaians.

“We continue to assure the government that the TUC and its affiliates operating in all the sectors of the Ghanaian economy are ready to support policies that will create jobs for Ghanaians and ensure prosperity for every Ghanaian regardless of their economic and social status or their location – rural or urban,” it added.