Some beneficiaries of the Youth in Afforestation programme under the Forestry Commission on Friday, May 7, 2021, gathered at the Ministry of Finance to demand the payment of their outstanding allowances.

The spokesperson of the group, Bossman Adutwum told Citi News that members of the programme had not been paid since December 2020.

“Anytime we complain, they say the payment is in the pipeline. That is the reason why we came here. We have submitted the necessary documents to the Finance Ministry. We need our money. Things have become so tough. As it stands now, we are pleading that they should give us our money.”

The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has already asked the beneficiaries to demand their monies from the Forestry Commission.

The Public Relations Officer of the YEA, Emmanuel Afriyie had explained that payment of allowances does not lie within the jurisdiction of the Agency.

“We do not have any payroll for Youth In Afforestation, and so we do not owe any beneficiary for more than five months. We do support the Agency, but we do not pay the beneficiaries. We have nothing to do with the beneficiaries, so the concerns should be directed to the appropriate quarters.”

In line with the NPP’s 2016 manifesto commitment of reforestation, forest rehabilitation, and forest protection activities, the Youth in Afforestation Programme was launched on August 13, 2018, at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi.

It is an initiative to help reduce the rate of youth unemployment while building more trees.

Over 20,000 youth were among the beneficiaries of the launch.