Ghana is set to commemorate this year’s International Day of the Youth from the 10th to12th August, 2022 at the Anagkazo Bible and Ministry Training Center at Akwapem Mampong in the Eastern Region.
According to the National Youth Authority (NYA), it is taking the opportunity to ask for the active involvement and support of youths in the country.
Speaking at the National Media Launch in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NYA, Pious Enam Hadzide said "Friends in the media, the Government of Ghana through the National Youth Authority and the Ministry of Youth and Sports will participate in this year’s global celebration of the youth in a remarkable manner. To that end, a series of activities have been put together and we are here today in the spirit of accountability and involvement to break communications on these activities as we perform this media launch"
Touching on the Maiden National Youth Conference, Mr. Hadzide said "The Authority is enjoined by Section 3 subsection (d) of the NYA Act to organize annual youth conferences at the national, regional and district levels with the objective to bring young people from different parts of the country together to promote friendship and co-operation through the exchange of ideas and create platforms for the youth to discuss contemporary issues affecting their lives and to increase youth participation in responding to socio-economic issues in the society"
He added that in fulfilment of the statutory requirement, the NYA shall for the first time since the passage of the Act 939 in 2016, organize a National Youth Conference.
Explaining further, he noted that representation is national and non-partisan with each district sending a minimum of two delegates.
The CEO, hinted that youth groups and special interest groups have also been accredited to send delegates.
"A total of about two thousand young Ghanaians with diverse backgrounds and drawn from; Youth NGOs and CSOs, Young Journalists, Students and Student Leaders, Young Entrepreneurs, Young Parliamentarians, Ministers, MMDCEs and other duty bearers, Youth Wings of registered political parties, Young Women Networks and the Young Persons with Disabilities; etc shall gather under one roof to interact and plan together towards national development"
Touching on the Youth Policy Launch, he noted that it is aimed at ensuring a comprehensive framework and direction for all stakeholders involved in the implementation of policies, programs and projects for youth development.
Mr. Hadzide pointed out that the National Youth Authority and the Ministry of Youth and Sports after extensive consultations have reviewed the 2010 youth policy.
He clarified that the policy document received cabinet approval recently and would be launched by His Excellency, the President of the Republic.
"A framework to track implementation and monitor progress has also been developed. We cease this opportunity to express our profound gratitude to the Hon Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif for his leadership in this regard"
On the National Youth Policy Dissemination Forum, he said "The aim of this activity is to sensitize and inform stakeholders about the thematic areas of the National Youth Policy and the implementation plan to ensure their understanding and create awareness and enhance stakeholders’ ownership of the policy"
Highlighting on the Star of the Youth of Ghana Award on President Akufo Addo, Mr. Pious Enam Hadzide also said "Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is said that a country that does not recognize and honour its heroes and heroines is not worth dying for. Historically the young people of Ghana have faced challenges and inhibitions which successive Governments and Presidents have rolled out programs and interventions to address with varying degrees of success"
He mentioned that under his leadership, President Akufo-Addo has initiated a comprehensive agenda to elevate the stature of the youth in the crucial sectors of education and employment.
"The free SHS policy has removed the financial inhibition to secondary education drastically reducing the rate of qualified JHS leavers who have been placed in a SHS but have failed to enroll from over 1 in 4 children to about 1 in 10 currently"
"The Guarantor free policy is further increasing access to tertiary education for the youth. Beyond education, the industrialization agenda as seen through policies such as 1D1F and the sustained investment in TVET and the entrepreneurial spirit of the Ghanaian youth is grooming a new class of young Ghanaians as job owners and creators as opposed to job seekers"
The CEO told Journalists that the YouStart initiative which seeks to inject some 10 billion Ghana Cedis into the youth of Ghana within the next three years would create an estimated 1 million jobs.
Beyond these programs and interventions, Mr. Hadzide hinted that President Akufo-Addo has also brought a fresh impetus of young brains into his cabinet and around the decision-making table.
"The Honorable Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif; the Hon Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Dame; the Hon Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso Boakye; the Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor, the Hon Minister for the Western North Region, Richard Joojo Obeng; through to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives including for instance the Hon District Chief Executive of Amansie South District of the Ashanti Clement Kwame Opoku Gyamfi"
"In recognition of his exemplary leadership and the numerous interventions that create a conducive atmosphere for the youth to develop and thrive, the youth of Ghana acting through their Youth Authority will use the occasion to honour His Excellency President Akufo Addo and confer on him the Star of the Youth of Ghana Award"
Mr. Hadzide hinted that the National Youth Authority as the apex body for Youth development in Ghana with strong support from Government will continue to take up the challenge of effecting policy in the areas of job creation, entrepreneurship, education and the like for the betterment of the youth in the country.
Background
The National Youth Authority (NYA) is the successor of the erstwhile National Youth Council which was established in 1974 by NRCD 241.
Having endured a period of metamorphoses after its inception as sometime the National Youth Organizing Commission, then the Democratic Youth League of Ghana, the National Youth Authority Act 2016, Act 939 consolidated the institutional knowledge acquired through the various stages of the Authority’s evolution and reformulated same as the Statutory Agency with the mandate to co-ordinate and facilitate youth empowerment and development activities in Ghana.
It is to also develop a dynamic and disciplined youth imbued with a spirit of nationalism, patriotism and a sense of propriety and civic responsibility and to provide for related matters.
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith