Ejumawura, Nkoko Nkitinkiti ‘jobs for the boys’?

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

Two of President Mahama’s government flagship programmes, meant to create jobs for the teeming youth and empower citizens to contribute in economic growth, have been marred by what has been known in political discourse as ‘jobs for the boys’.

Hundreds of entrepreneurs and youth who completed business training for the Ejumawura and Nkoko Nkitinkiti programmes say they have been side-lined after submitting their proposals. They alleged grants and presidential pitch slots were diverted to executives of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and individuals with political connections and their cronies, who they claim did not even take part in the training.

‘Jobs for the boys’ refers to the practice of giving preference to cronies and party members instead of deserving candidates in the implementation of state policies.

This story is based on phone interviews with participants of the Ejumawura and Nkoko Nkitinkiti programmes at several training centres in the Northern Region. Names have been changed to protect their identities and avert potential repercussions or reprisal attacks. The training centres’ names have been changed as well.

Interviews with participants across several training centres in the region revealed that implementation of the well-intentioned policies has been undermined. According to the trainees, the selection process was not transparent.

The Ejumawura programme, which serves as a precursor and integrated pathway to the Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme, was advertised as a competitive opportunity for young business owners to receive formal training in business management, proposal writing and financial forecasting and stand a chance of receiving funding grants of up to                           GH¢100,000.

According to information provided to trainees at the beginning of the programme, over 10,000 applications were received across the country. They were informed that approximately 2,000 individuals would be selected to receive funding, with the strongest proposals advancing to a presidential-pitch event.

After completing a rigirous online application, requiring business registration certificates, verification of educational qualifications and detailed descriptions of their businesses, candidates were vetted and shortlisted. The shortlisted candidates were sent SMS messages assigning them to designated training centres across the country.

In Tamale, training was conducted at about nine centres with cohorts ranging from 50 to over 200 participants at each centre. Trainees were segregated by educational qualifications – a measure some participants said was necessary to accommodate varying literacy levels, though others noted it created complications.

At the end of training, participants received a daily transport and sustenance allowance of GH¢20. A poultry farmer who trained at Centre A, Amina Kassim – not her real name, however said considering the commuting distances and absence of food and water during training sessions, the amount was inadequate.

“We were there every day by eight o’clock. I’m running a farm and have children to prepare for school. The GH¢20 couldn’t cover my transport let alone anything else,” Mrs. Kassim said. “But I still went because I have passion for what I do and I believed the grant would change everything.”

After completing the training in December 2025, participants submitted their business proposals with budgets and growth projections. However, according to them, communication ceased thereafter.

“We never heard from them up to date. We heard that people who were not even part of the programme are the ones receiving grants. As it stands now, we don’t even know what is happening. It’s a dead-end for us,” said Alidu Mohammed, a businessman who trained at Centre A.

A branch organiser for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and shop owner, Alhassan Iddrissu who trained with about 90 participants at Centre B, confirmed that not a single individual from his centre received funding.

“My centre, nobody got it. All of us did not get it,” Mr. Iddrissu stated, adding that when he raised concerns on the centre’s WhatsApp platform, the facilitator removed him from the group.

“The facilitator argued that one person was given the grant in our centre. But we don’t know that person. If you ask colleagues who was given, they don’t know. I believe nobody got the grant from the whole 90 participants,” he opined.

Even though Iddrissu is an NDC branch organiser, he was sidelined. He therefore warned that these cronyism and implementation failures risk alienating the party’s grassroots supporters. “If we continue implementing policies like this for three years, we will all start coming to Accra looking for godfathers. And when there’s election time, we all fold our arms. Those who didn’t suffer for the victory are now enjoying because they know influential people closer to power,” he stressed.

Across all training centres examined by B&FT, participants alleged that the grants were either given to political party executives or individuals with direct connections to programme facilitators.

At Centre A, Mrs. Kassim claimed only two individuals secured funding; a woman – an NDC party executive – who joined the programme virtually for just one week before the training concluded and the training centre owner, who is reported to be her husband.

“The business proposal she claimed she was going to do doesn’t exist,” Mrs. Kassim alleged, adding that “she said she’s going to use the money to open something for her father, not for herself”.

“She has also been given school feeding contracts while none of us ordinary people got anything,” she further alleged.

According to the participants at Centre A, this arrangement raises conflict of interest issues.

“Colleagues told me that the trainer’s wife has been selected. He himself has been selected. Other NDC district and regional executives were the ones who received grants and did the presidential pitch,” Alidu Mohammed said.

The presidential pitch, which was meant to culminate the initiative – where successful candidates would present their business ideas for funding – occurred without transparency and those who managed to observe it were unimpressed by what they witnessed.

A businesswoman, Patricia Ansong who trained at Centre C, confirmed she observed the pitch session remotely… describing it as “an eyesore”. She said products that were pitched at the event included tiger-nut drinks, ‘sobolo’ and butter-bread.

According to her, this was an embarrassment for a programme that is designed to identify and fund high-growth businesses. “I saw a young lady demonstrating a tiger-nut drink and bread. I saw butter-bread on the table,” Mrs. Ansong said, expressing her disappointment.

“We all attended the training expecting them to call us for pitching. No one called us. Attending training for six weeks is not easy. And at the end of the day, everything just goes like that,” she lamented.

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