The Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana has stated that the decline of youth participation and involvement in the political process could be dangerous for the developmental agenda of the country.
Madam Regina Oforiwaah Amanfo, Senior Programmes Officer and Team Lead for Inclusion and Social Justice, observed that there was the need to consider and involve the youth, who are assets of the country and form about 60% of the total population, in decision making.
Speaking at a Youth Speaks Forum, organised by the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana in collaboration with the Youth Bridge Foundation, and sponsored by the USAID, on the theme, Engendering National and Local Conversation on Youth issues Ahead of Elections 2020”, Madam Oforiwaah Amanfo disclosed that the youth are normally left behind by the political parties when coming out with their manifestoes, and for that matter, the challenges facing the youth, as male, female male or disabled, would not be properly addressed, even though they use these same youth who are unemployed in causing political mayhem during elections.
According to her, the Fourth Republic is experiencing something which could be dangerous for our country, because the youth are the very people the political parties engage to cause violence in elections, and entreated the youth to advise themselves not to allow political parties to use them, because when it’s comes to elections, they are the king makers with the majority of voters.
Madam Joyce Nyame, Programmes Coordinator of Youth Bridge Foundation (YBF), stated that the Foundation aims at bridging gaps for positive youth development.
She was of the view that the youth, as assets of the country, must be the foundation of good governance.
The Programme Coordinator stated that job creation and education, being the most challenging and important to the youth, there was the need for stakeholders in the various political parties to target them, instead of leaving them unemployed and using them only for political violence to advance their political parochial interests.
She disclosed that in the last census the youth constituted about 66% of the total population, for which reason the political parties must dialogue with them to help bring aboard inclusive policies to affect the youth.
The post Decline of youth participation in political process is dangerous -CDD appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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