OUR MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF GHANA ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD YOUTH DAY

As we mark International Youth Day , we at the Foundation for Youth Peace and Development wish to say that we appreciate efforts made so far by The Government of Ghana at preparing the youth for their respective future roles through the introduction of numerous youth empowerment programmes and upgrading of existing ones.

The addition of an entrepreneurial development component to the National Youth Employment Programme in particular, is very encouraging, as far as efforts at making the youth creators of job is concerned.

It is in the light of this huge importance of GYEEDA that we consider recent development at the place not only as worrying but also most unfortunate. We believe the GYEEDA idea is by far the single most important social intervention programme aimed at addressing the needs of the youth in the country , and as such should be given the detailed managerial attention it deserves.

We are confident that Government will attend to the issue with utmost urgency by restructuring the Agency to effectively address unemployment problems among the youth. We also wish to add , that technical education and ICT should be given priority attention and strengthened to equip the youth with the requisite skills that will make them independent of Government etc in securing job after school.

Notwithstanding the fact that ICT is the tool that drives development in the contemporary world, the pervasive use of the technology for fraudulent activities by some Ghanaian youth has given it a negative perception in our society to the extent that some parents are no longer comfortable with their children patronizing ICT facilities. The implication of this for National Development and also our competitiveness in the global world is very obvious .We will therefore be happy if mechanisms can be put in place to ensure that the youth put ICT to its proper use so that they can effectively contribute to the National Development effort.

We have also observed with much concern, that our society is losing most of its traditional institutions as a result of rapid urbanization and adoption of western ways of life.The extended family system which provided effective social protection for the youth is one of such institutions which is fast disappearing, thus rendering many of the youth vulnerable to social vices and other dangers of society.We are convinced that a well resourced National Youth Authority ,Department of Social Welfare etc can effectively provide protection and direction for the youth and ultimately make them worthy members of the state.

Finally we believe that the largest beneficiaries of a peaceful and stable Ghana is the youth.This is because the youth are mostly people who are yet to attain their aspirations of life.In our own small way therefore, we have been working hard to promote peace among the youth in our respective communities. We believe however, that the ultimate responsibility of securing the peace and stability of our beloved country Ghana lies with institutions of state established by law for that purpose , and so are we counting on them to ensure that Ghana remains peaceful and stable so that the youth can attain their aspirations.

JOSEPH TETTEH
SNGD (FOUNDER ,FYPD)