We’ve been stopped by police from protesting at Jubilee House – NABCO beneficiaries

The Ghana Police Service has stopped a planned picketing at the Jubilee House by beneficiaries of the Nation Builders Corp (NABCO) on Tuesday, September 20.

This was disclosed by the leadership of the group. The members protested last month at the Black Star Square to impress upon government to clear the 10-month arrears owed them.

However, they tell Citi News they are yet to receive any positive feedback on when their allowances would be paid.

In an interview with Citi News, the President of the NABCO beneficiaries, Dennis Opoku Okatakyie, said they would decide on the next line of action soon.

“Leadership met with the Greater Accra Regional Police Command to discuss the picketing at the Jubilee House. But to our surprise, the Police indicated that picketing at the Jubilee House is not possible because the area is a security zone and for some security measures they are not going to allow us but rethink and go back to Independence Square, but we didn’t agree.”

The group served a fresh notice of picketing at the Jubilee House, given the government’s failure to pay them allowances due them under the just-ended programme.

In a statement, it expressed worry that protests it has held in the past have yielded no results.

“After exhausting all possible avenues, including the recently held picketing followed by the time window given to government to getting our arrears paid, the same issue lingers. It is clear that our welfare is not of concern to the government,” parts of the release said.

“The level of insensitivity suffered in the hands of the current administration is condemnable to the highest degree. Trainees are to take note of this new development and watch out for subsequent updates leading to the exercise on our various platforms”, the statement concluded.

The protest was to come after the recently held one on September 6, 2022, by the Coalition of NABCO trainees after the NABCO program officially ended on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.

The program which was launched in 2018 for a three-year period was extended in 2021.

The beneficiaries say the non-payment of the allowances largely began with the extension.