Perry Okudzeto, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports
Youth leaders in the country yesterday brainstormed on the 2010 National Youth Policy in Accra to fine-tune it meet current trends.
The consultation forum aimed at making inputs into the new policy and further outlines comprehensive strategies, projects and activities into the policy that would nurture and engage Ghanaian youth in national development.
Participants were youth organisers of the various political parties, youth organisations, Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON), Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN), National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), students from senior high schools and the public.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay said participants’ concerns would be inputted into the final document for implementation by the end of the first quarter of next year.
He said about 55 per cent of micro and small scale businesses in the country were mostly owned by the youth, stressing these contribute to about 17 per cent of Gross Domestic Product of the economy.
This, he said made it possible for a youth policy that would guide the governance structure to enhance the potential of the youth.
He added that the policy would further help the country demonstrate its commitment to all international conventions and charters it has signed to.
“The development and empowerment of the youth is imperative for the attainment of national developmental gaols.
It is therefore important to take accounts of the youth in our national development effort by providing opportunities for learning and acquiring skills,” he said.
A Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Perry Okudzeto was hopeful that the policy would become one of the significant documents of government.
He said government had already implemented programmes and policies that would significantly impact positively in the lives of the youth.
He mentioned that the free Senior High School programme as well as the Nation Builders Corps as some of the policy that would transform and improve the livelihood of the youth.
He explained that the review of the 2010 policy was to update data to enable government strengthen its national youth agenda.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN
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