National youth policy soon

Published in the Daily Graphic on 2/12/2009, pg 9

Story: Matilda Attram, Gomoa Fetteh
The Ministry of Youth and Sports will introduce a national youth policy in the country which will enable the youth to take part in the initiation and implementation of development policies.
The policy, which is expected to be launched in December this year, will focus on three developmental programmes -The Sense of Direction Grounding in National Agenda, Education for Employment and The Youth, Health and Environment.
This was made known by the National Youth Coordinator of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Dr Sekou Nkrumah, at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Youth Africa Scout Forum.
Dr Nkrumah, who speaking on the theme: “Empowering Young Lives, Creating a better World”, said African youth had good talents which could be focused into generating wealth to eliminate poverty on the African continent.
“There is the need to channel our good talents and rich resources into generating wealth for our continent, no matter the country you belong to. Africa belongs to us and we can make it better if we want to”, he said.
He entreated participants to encourage one another through activities that would enrich the potentials of Africa.
“Each of us represents Africa; wherever we find ourselves in the world, we should emulate the example of Dr Kwame Nkrumah who stood for Africa in the world, although he was a native of Ghana.”
In a speech, the Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Mr Reuben Nii Nortey Dua, said inculcating values and skills in the youth was a shared responsibility for all since the future of every nation depended on its youth who were the dynamic segment of the human resource base that guaranteed the continued existence of society.
“To empower the youth, therefore, affords all of us the rare and unique opportunity to prepare and shape their talents and abilities to meet the challenges of the future”, he said.
He added that the Ministry of Youth and Sports was ready to implement policies aimed at inculcating in the youth the spiritual and moral values that would help them to be responsible, self-reliant and patriotic citizens.
“The only way we can create a better world is by inculcating in our youth values, skills and knowledge that can withstand the test of the negative pressures of our times”.
Mr Nortey Dua commended the Ghana Scout Association for promoting values that required attitudes and skills that enabled the youth to be responsible and self-reliant citizens.
The Chairman of the forum and the Regional Youth Advisor, Mr Paul Muembi, indicated in his remarks that the forum, which was held every three years, provided opportunities for the youth in 37 African countries to come together to address social problems such as drug abuse, child trafficking, in addition to serving as training grounds for them to build their capabilities.
He said the youth constituted a large segment of the population of every country and needed to work together as a committed force to be able to take up the responsibilities and opportunities of creating a better future for the African continent.
“Our challenge is to find methods through which we can invest in what are possibly the world’s most dynamic demographic young people under the age of 30 who make up 70 per cent of the population of each African country”, he said.
The Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Ghana Scout Association, Ms Jemimah Nartey, indicated that the organisation was independent, non-profit-making and educated young people to play constructive roles in society.
She said it was established as a youth movement by a British veteran, Baden Powell, with the aim of helping young people to become responsible adults in life.
Ms Nartey said the organisation had since its establishment in Ghana in 1912 encouraged young people, educated and empowered about 10,000 youth by instilling in them the spirit of volunteerism, socialisation and policies that enabled them to be focused in life.
In her address, the Queen of Gomoa –Fetteh, Nana Abena Awusiwaa II, advised participants to rekindle the positive ideals instilled in them during the past years and to support each other’s ideas and activities to create a better environment for all.
Participants at the forum included delegates from Angola, Benin, Baukina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Niger, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.