Dr. Ibrahim Anyars
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), Dr. Ibrahim Anyars, has assured Ghanaians that government is highly committed to improving and sustaining the NABCO programme.
According to the CEO, NABCO has come to stay and would continue to create job opportunities for unemployed graduates in Ghana, while efforts are being made to address all the challenges the programme is currently facing.
Dr. Anyars was speaking in an interview in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, as part of his nationwide tour to interact with beneficiaries, heads of selected institutions and also see how the programme is being run in the region.
Apart from absenteeism among many NABCO personnel, deliberate refusal of some institutional heads to assign NABCO personnel and the issue of delay in the payment of monthly stipends are also major challenges confronting the programme.
Touching on the issue of delays in paying the beneficiaries their monthly stipends of GH¢700.00, Dr. Anyars attributed the delays to the failure of some NABCO personnel to give proper data about themselves.
According to him, some people gave wrong and conflicting information about themselves during the application process and so when it comes to payment of stipends it becomes very difficult to identify the right person to be paid.
As a way of reducing the period of delay in the payment of monthly stipends of NABCO personnel, Dr. Anyars has hinted that NABCO has taken steps to get the personnel to correct all their personal data to avoid problems.
NABCO aims at engaging 100,000.00 in decent jobs, where they are expected to be trained on the job and possibly join their current institution or apply for other jobs with the experience acquired through NABCO engagement.
Dr. Anyars urged the NABCO personnel in the Upper East Region to take their work seriously in order to justify their monthly GH¢700.00 stipends.
NABCO has widely been criticized due to some challenges the programme is currently facing, with the major opposition party in Ghana – the National Democratic Congress (NDC) – doubting the sustainability of the programme.
According to Dr. Anyars, all structures have been put in place and the teething challenges are being  addressed.
FROM: Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga