GOVT URGED TO RATIFY YOUTH POLICY WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY

A development oriented youth organisation in the Northern Region, Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL) is asking government to ratify the proposed National Youth Policy which has been on the drawing board for several years without further delay.

At the end of its 6^th Annual Youth Forum held at Dalun in the Tolon-Kumbungu District of the Northern Region, YEfL members said notwithstanding the efforts of past and present governments towards enhancing the development of young people in Ghana, much still need to be done towards addressing the development needs of the youth.

The annual youth forum of YEfL was organized to foster unity and cohesion among various youth groups that participated and also to enable participants share ideas on how to address the problems confronting them.

It was organized under the theme: “Navigating Youth Contribution to Government Policies” and brought together 150 participants belonging to various youth groups in the Tamale Metropolis, Yendi Municipality, Karaga, Saboba, Nanumba North and South, West Gonja, Tolon-Kumbungu and Savelugu-Nanton Districts.

The opening day of the five day event saw delegates and participants sensitized on the Savannah Accelerated Development Authourity (SADA), the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), National Youth Policy and the oil and gas draft document.

Jawol Vera Magan, a youth leader and member of YEfL who read the communiqué, also expressed the need for the National Youth Policy to be implemented by the National Youth Council (NYC) after it has been ratified and approved by parliament.

According to her, it is the mandate of the NYC to coordinate all youth activities at all levels and called on government to leave all issues concerning the youth to the NYC and stop creating parallel structures in having a Youth Ministry.

Ms. Vera Magan further advocated that there should be no political interference in the work of the National Youth Council and called on government to release the governance structure of the Council to the youth themselves to decide who should or should not be the National Youth Council Coordinator.

She pointed out that the current situation whereby the NYC Coordinator is appointed by the government of the day is what they are against, declaring that the NYC should be immune to political influence now.

There has not been a clear representation of the youth on the board of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authourity (SADA) and demanded that government should take a second look at the constitution of the board so that programmes and policies to be implemented will make young people more competitive in the various sectors of the economy, she observed.

The acting National Coordinator of the NYC Archibald Donkor announced that come August 12^th, 2010, government will outdoor the new draft National Youth Policy bill.

He said it would be out for deliberations at cabinet level before being sent to parliament for it to be passed into law.

Mr. Donkor therefore advised the youth to be disciplined and exercise more patient saying provisions have also been made for the document to be reviewed when the need arises.

The District Chief Executive for Tolon-Kumbungu, Alhaji Iddi-Manzah Mahama also announced the building of an office complex for the youth in the district and appealed to the NYC to endeavour to provide staff when the time comes.

He told participants that the government of the NDC has learnt a lot of lessons from youth agitations for jobs with barely two years in office. Adding that, the government is however not in a hurry to design adhoc solutions to these calls but will painstakingly fashion out a long term plan that will serve as a blue print for Ghana .