Youth demand urgent presidential, parliamentary action over exclusion of youth agencies from DACF

The Ghana Youth Federation (GYF) has issued a strong statement condemning the exclusion of key youth-focused institutions from the 2026 District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) allocation formula, describing the move as unlawful and a threat to national development.

In a press release signed by its President, Sherif Ghali, the Federation expressed “deep concern and strong objection” to the omission of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and the National Youth Authority (NYA) from the 2026 funding structure.

According to the GYF, the exclusion is neither a technical oversight nor an administrative lapse, but rather a direct contradiction of Ghana’s legal and policy frameworks governing youth development. Both the YEA and NYA are statutory institutions established by Acts of Parliament with mandates to provide employment, skills training, and empowerment opportunities for young people across the country.

The Federation emphasized that these agencies are expected to receive allocations under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), making their omission from the approximately GHS 8.7 billion fund a significant policy failure.

“This decision exposes a dangerous disconnect between government commitments and actual resource allocation,” the statement noted, pointing to rising youth unemployment as one of Ghana’s most pressing challenges.

The GYF also linked the situation to the recent surge in applications for limited recruitment opportunities within the country’s security services, describing it as evidence of mounting economic pressure on young people due to inadequate funding for youth support systems.

Key Demands
The Federation outlined two primary demands:

• Immediate Review of the 2026 DACF Formula: Government is being urged to revise the allocation formula before disbursement begins, ensuring dedicated, ring-fenced funding for both the NYA and YEA.

• High-Level Policy Coordination: The GYF called on the Office of the President to facilitate urgent collaboration between the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, the Ministry of Finance, and the DACF Administrator to align funding decisions with national youth policies.

Additionally, the Federation appealed directly to national leadership, urging the President to intervene decisively, while calling on the Speaker of Parliament and Members of Parliament to exercise oversight and protect youth interests.

“Ghana cannot claim to prioritize its youth while systematically excluding them from one of the country’s most critical development funds,” the statement stressed.

The GYF warned that the current trajectory is unsustainable economically, socially, and politically, and pledged to pursue all legitimate constitutional and civic avenues to ensure that Ghanaian youth receive what it described as their rightful share of national development financing.