Beneficiaries of the Youth in Afforestation program under the Forestry Commission say they will embark on a series of protests from next Monday, February 14, 2022, over non-payment of allowances.
The group indicates that the government has failed to pay their October, November and December 2021 allowances as well as that of January 2022.
In an interview with Citi News, the beneficiaries say all efforts to address the issue have proven futile.
The spokesperson for the beneficiaries, Bossman Adutwum also threatened a full-scale demonstration if their demands are not met.
“Beneficiaries of the Youth in Afforestation really want our management to know that if they do not pay us our 2021 owed allowances, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we are going to hold placards in front of the headquarters. If nothing comes out of that, we will go back to the drawing board to fix a date for a mega demonstration.”
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.
It is an initiative to help reduce the rate of youth unemployment while building more trees.
But sadly, the beneficiaries have over time pleaded with the government to do well in honouring its promise to pay allowances owed to them.
The government’s inability to pay the arrears has always compelled the beneficiaries to resort to demonstrations to drum home their concerns about the non-payment of allowances and poor working conditions.
They bemoaned the hardship they have been forced to endure over the period as a result of the arrears.
