MDPI boss commends NYEP programmes
Accra, Oct. 31, GNA – Dr Sayibu Ahmed Gariba, Director General of the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) has commended the NYEP management for developing and introducing pragmatic programmes to transform the NYEP beyond a stop-gap measure approach.
He said the NYEP, despite the delayed payment of beneficiaries, was one of the best in the country aimed at alleviating the plight of the youth and appealed to funding institutions to release funds for the programme's sustenance.
Dr Gariba made the commendation at the weekend in a review meeting for the implementation of the Youth Enterprise Programme, an NYEP initiative to empower some 800,000 youth with micro finance assistance to improve their living standards.
Dr Gariba said apart from the NYEP offering temporary jobs for the youth of this country, it was also supporting organized groups to embark on self reliance programmes, which were equally beneficial to addressing youth unemployment.
“The Youth Enterprise Development Programme (YEDeP), Youth in Agriculture, the exit programmes as well as other viable programmes of the NYEP are commendable and what needs to be done now is for the state to take a greater interest in NYEP and seek the necessary permanent funding for the programme to sustain it”, he emphasized.
“I must also commend the NYEP for taking the giant step to support the MDPI to train some of the youth in oil and gas management though there are funds sitting at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning”, he said.
On the way forward for the implementation of the YEDep, Dr Gariba said the objectives of the YEDep was to provide competency based training and facilitate funds for capacity building and on-lending for youth enterprise development in the areas of ICT, Agriculture, Construction and oil and gas.
He said the unemployed youth who needed capacity building and resource support to establish and operate their own businesses would be supported while group-owned youth enterprises and organizations that also needed resources would be captured in the YEDep web.
Mr Philip Assibit Akpeena, Managing Consultant of the MDPI said the Institute would continue to work collectively with the NYEP as well as provide the requisite consultation to ensure that NYEP programmes succeeded.
He said the YEDeP programme would be looking into areas that investors would be interested in putting in their money and gave the assurance that everything would be done to ensure that the programme assisted some 800,000 youths within the next two years.
In a related development, the World Bank has approved and released 65 million dollarsfor the NYEP to address the inability of most young people to access capital for business ventures and to create sustainable jobs and businesses for the youth in the private sector.
GNA