Calls For Government To Stop Running GYEEDA Is Misplaced And Premature

The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) believes that calls for the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency to be scraped are misplaced and premature though it is unfortunate that Government's monitoring and anti-corruption strategies could not avert a recent alleged corruptible occurrences and mismanagement.

Research by CPR reveals that many countries across the world have adopted a shift in intervention programme strategies to include key priorities for the youth development. In Ghana, for instance, the urgency for such social intervention priorities come in the wake of the alarming incidence of youth unemployment, and thus the creation of the National Youth Employment Programme, NYEP, in 2006. According to the 2011 World Bank country statistics, some 65 per cent of Ghanaian youth are unemployed.

It is therefore critical to first examine the core aims of establishing GYEEDA. CPR's observes that the programme which targets youth within ages 18-35 years is a social intervention programme was originally created to (1) offer employment to the Ghanaian youth, (2) offer requisite working experience to post-national service personnel, and (3) provide Ghanaian youth with employable skills. These above aims are still very relevant today considering the high youth unemployment rate in the country.

CPR believes that the rebranding of NYEP into the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency, GYEEDA, if effectively managed, has a huge potential to reduce extreme poverty and unemployment among young people in Ghana. Though this burgeoning agency has been battling with some challenges, including alleged corruption, its anticipated outcomes are far-reaching. As of now, it is the most known agency that gives impetus to youth entrepreneurship, employment and development in the country. It is estimated that GYEEDA will recruit, train and employ some 400,000 beneficiaries by the end of this year alone.

CPR is however of the view that the current national strategies for youth development must be broad-based, multi-sectoral and approached from various private-public partnerships. Aside from an anticipated GH¢10 million fund for jobs and enterprise development, the district GYEEDA taskforce teams must be empowered to design and implement modules pertinent to their local needs. It is also thought that a re-look at the academic curricula of the tertiary institutions to include management, entrepreneurship and business courses for students of all disciplines would bring a historic shift to the graduate mindset. We also urge Government to take immediate steps to implement its budgetary promise of researching into the real statistical rate of youth unemployment so as to give clear and informed guide to funding strategies for youth development initiatives.

Additionally, social entrepreneurs, faith organizations and other youth development agencies should all get involved.

CPR commends Mr. Manasseh Azure Awuni and Joy FM for their exposé on alleged corruption at GYEEDA. With the ongoing Government investigation, it is expected that the findings of the committee will help identify all the challenges confronting the management of GYEEDA to afford government the opportunity strengthen GYEEDA by addressing such challenges including making all persons found culpable of any wrongdoing to face the music.

Signed
Charles Chess
Fellow, CPR
024 4400601