Two ministries streamline operations of NYEP

Page 34 (lead) Feb. 1 2008

Story: Charles Benoni Okine

THE ministries of Manpower, Youth and Employment and Finance and Economic Planning have begun intensive discussions on how best to resolve the issue of prompt payment of salaries to employees under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP).
The Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Nana Akomea, disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Accra in response to threats by the employees under the programme to embark on a strike to demand the payment of their three months’ salary arrears.
He said the discussions followed directives by President J.A. Kufuor to the two ministries to take the necessary action to remove the bottlenecks impeding the smooth implementation of the programme.
“The President stressed the importance of the programme and has asked the two ministries to come up with strategies that will sustain it. In fact, we are at it at the moment,” he said.
Since the launch of the programme last year to provide jobs for many unemployed Ghanaian youth, there have been challenges concerning the prompt payment of salaries to the beneficiaries.
Instead of monthly payments, the staff of the NYEP receive their salaries quarterly, a situation which they have appealed against and called for its rectification.
So far, out of the about 334,000 applicants on the programme, only 108,000 have been enrolled.
The total wage bill for the employed now stands at about GH¢6.4 million a month.
The sector minister said one of the surest ways to surmount the challenge of monthly payment was for the ministry to have an upfront amount spanning at least six months so that when the sources from which the NYEP was supported were due, the accounts of the programme would be debited.
The NYEP draws its funds from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the HIPC fund and the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).
Other sources, such as the services budget of the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), have not been forthcoming.
Nana Akomea explained that the various funds accrued at the end of every quarter and so as the programme stood now, until the releases came for the NYEP to have its share, the worker unfortunately had to wait.
He said it was against that background that the ministry was engaged in talks with the Finance Ministry to see how best it could release some funds to pay the workers so that when the releases of the funds were ready, the accounts of the NYEP would be debited.
Nana Akomea said the programme was a laudable one and gave the assurance that the challenges would be addressed to ensure its full sustainability.
Meanwhile, he said the releases for the last quarter of last year were ready and were being processed for payment.
He said it took two to three weeks to get everyone on the programme paid and called on the employees to be patient while the payments were made.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment has put on hold further recruitment of personnel into the programme following the problems of cash flow which are being streamlined, reports Sebastian Syme
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the NYEP National Co-ordinator, Mr Leo Kabah, commended the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which had consistently paid its portion of resources into the programme.
He indicated that plans were afoot to ensure that the cash flow problems confronting the NYEP were eliminated to ensure its smooth implementation.
The NYEP boss noted that it was the desire of the government to create sustainable jobs for the youth to enable them to earn their keep and added that “it is not our wish to derail their hopes”.
The NYEP is this year expected to roll out two additional modules, which are Trades and Vocation and Youth in Information Communication and Technology (ICT), which is expected to engage more than 100,000 youth.
A NYEP Fund Bill is being drafted to be placed before Cabinet as part of moves to streamline the sources of funding for the programme.