Brong Ahafo holds Regional Youth Forum
From Michael Boateng
A youth forum has been held in the Brong-Ahafo Region under the theme, “Promoting Youth Empowerment for Productive and Better Citizenship: Positioning Brong-Ahafo Youth for Active Participation”.
The forum attracted over 100 youth from youth organisations and collaborating ministries, departments and agencies within the region, and provided them the opportunity to discuss strategic programmes and policies, with the objective of coming out with a regional action plan very relevant to the development agenda.
Addressing the gathering, the Regional Youth Coordinator, Mr. Kobina Afena Sam, enumerated a number of problems affecting youth development., citing the length of time that elapsing for the promulgation of a national youth policy, inadequate stakeholder exchanges in the formulation of a strategic plan for the National Youth Council, and inadequate institutional capacity buildings to facilitate meaningful support to youth programmes.
Mr. Afena Sam therefore called on the government to help address those problems, and noted that young people in the world over were recognised as very important human capital, their development, therefore, was considered an important part of national development.
Mr. Afena Sam said the youth council was repositioning itself to effectively accomplish its mandate as a richly endowed national youth development service delivery agency that sufficiently provides for the development needs of all young people.
He stressed that youth issues in global development were more relevantly general, but the specifics become much more urgent, depending on particular national development needs, aspirations and circumstances.
Mr. Afena Sam pointed out that there was the need for the formulation of sectoral policies, such as the youth in agriculture programme, fashioning out instruments for youth participation, and institutionalising youth participatory policies in the overall national development.
He noted that currently, the youth council was present in only eight out of the twenty two districts in the region, because of lack of offices.
He, therefore, appealed to the Regional Coordinating Council to assist the council in acquiring offices to enable a large percentage of the youth access youth delivery services.
He also appealed to district and municipal assemblies to assist the council in acquiring sites to set up youth resource and recreational centers
Mr. Afena Sam appealed to youth groups in the region to register with the youth council, since it was a legal requirement.
The Deputy Regional Minister, Eric Opoku, observed that the youth were major human resources for the development of the country, and must therefore be adequately nurtured.
He added also that the youth were agents for social change and economic development, and as such, the many problems confronting them must be addressed.
“Ghana is for all of us; all of us have ideas to express for the betterment of Ghana, therefore, the youth should help to implement government policies and programmes to make Ghana a better place,” he urged.
Mr. Opoku entreated the youth to cooperate in educating the populace to help change the mindset of the people today, for development, saying, “There is the need for the citizenry to fulfill their tax obligations for more income to undertake development projects.”
He further charged the forum to propose the setting up of a youth development fund to be disbursed by the existing banks, which would enable the youth access adequate funds for the establishment of businesses.
The Deputy Regional Minister challenged young people, as custodians of the future, to have a high stake in environmental conservation, and lead the crusade against environmental degradation.
Pix: Participants of the Regional Youth Forum held in Sunyani, with the Deputy Regional Minister, Eric Opoku, in the middle.
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