Chiefs of state agencies account for unprecedented youth empowerment under Akufo-Addo

Heads of state institutions and youth agencies under the Akufo-Addo government have said collectively that the Akufo-Addo-led government has empowered more than 2.5 million young Ghanaians over the past three and a half years, the period in which the government has been in office.

Addressing the maiden edition of the Nation Building Updates at the Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra on Tuesday 22 September 2020, on the theme “Leadership That Delivers for the Youth”, six chief executive officers – in charge of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI), National Service Scheme (NSS) and National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) – said the Akufo-Addo government has made unprecedented strides by providing opportunities and hope for the Ghanaian youth.

The NABCO story

The chief executive officer of NABCO, Dr Ibrahim Anyars, emphasized that government recognizes the challenging burden of unemployment at various levels of society and has adequately initiated measures through the NABCO programme to address it. He said after a successful implementation of the program, NABCO is beginning a process to transition its first batch of beneficiaries to permanent employment status as the scheme approaches its second anniversary.

“This initiative is to assist address graduate unemployment through a work and learning programme by placing them into work to gain experience, value addition through training and human capital development so the trainees would be ready for opportunities of permanent employment and become innovative in establishing their enterprises. And an exit scheme for additional exposure for trainees to enter into the real world of exploring opportunities,” Dr Anyars said.

NBSSI programmes

Touching on government interventions through her outfit, the executive director of the NBSSI, Kosi Afua Yankey-Ayeh, said government has provided support to the youth in diverse ways. One of such ways she noted is the disbursement of funds through the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAP BuSS), an initiative designed to deal with the social and economic impact of COVID-19 on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) owned by the youth.

She explained that through key government interventions, the NBSSI has been able to substantially reduce the high unemployment rate in the country as well as maximise the contribution of small businesses to the country’s economic and social development.

YEA achievements

The chief executive officer of the YEA, Justin Kodua Frimpong, detailed numerous interventions and policy initiatives introduced by his administration which has created close to 145,000 over the past three years.

These include the YEA Job Centre, which connects jobseekers to employers, the Artisan Directory, Youth in Elite Sports, School Support Programme and Flagship Programme, among many others.

The CEO did not leave out the transformation agenda, which has also brought renovation of the agency’s offices and the construction of new regional offices, especially for the newly created regions.

He also disclosed that the YEA has been saved over GHC82 million since the start of the new government in 2017. This is the product of prudent management and the institution of an effective validation, verification, monitoring and evaluation practices implemented by the agency’s management.

The role of the NEIP

Speaking on the numerous government interventions through his unit, the chief executive officer of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP), John Kumah, pointed out government has supported 9,350 businesses financially to make them competitive and viable.

He also said the government is embarking on a number of projects including the training of 10,000 students under the student entrepreneurship initiative and supporting 30 innovative entrepreneurs under the Presidential Pitch.

NYA chief executive officer

Highlighting the various youth-centred programmes on which the government has embarked through the NYA, the chief executive of the agency, Sylvester Mensah Tetteh, said the state has trained 3,000 young people in online digital marketing and entrepreneurship.

A further 5,000 young people have been trained and equipped with skills in youth entrepreneurship.

NSS update

The NSS boss, Mustapha Ussif, described how, over the past few years, his organisation has mobilised and deployed Ghanaian citizens aged 18 and above for national development.

Under the current government, he said, the NSS has become efficient and proactive, undertaking projects to combat hunger, illiteracy, disease and unemployment in Ghana.

The Nation Building Updates is a new weekly event, designed by government through the Ministry of Information. It will provide stakeholders in Ghana’s democracy with detailed updates on key interventions executed by the government.

Wilberforce Asare / Asaase Radio

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