Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
A youth-led advocacy group, Youth Bridge Foundation has called on the government to ensure that the National Development Planning Committee (NDPC) plays a vital role in youth development.
The group in a statement issued in response to the finance minister’s 2021 mid-year budget presentation explained this was necessary for driving youth-centred economic and social development policies aligned with a national development agenda.
“We applaud the government for taking the needed steps to deepen its engagement with the youth across the country. The move speaks to the government’s resolve to include the expectations and aspirations of the youth in its policy formulation. “
“We also note with commendation the specific initiatives were undertaken to advance youth development but observe with regret how successive governments’ announcement of such special youth initiatives has not been sustained with a character of ad hoc or knee jerk responses to youth expectations,” the group noted.
The group further called on the government to detail and communicate its specific support to the private sector including youth-led enterprises to ensure that they are adequately stimulated and strengthened to drive youth development
“Take into cognizance that the youth is not a homogeneous group and therefore Government must implement its policies and initiatives to meet the varying segments of youth i.e., level of education, geographical location, age, gender, social status, disability status among others Young People in Ghana to empower themselves through continuous learning and knowledge-seeking using modern technology.”
Meanwhile, government has announced an ambitious plan to create one million jobs over the next three to four years intended for the youth.
The initiative, according to the finance minister is expected to promote and support the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), new ventures and start-ups.
“Mr. Speaker, our intention of building an entrepreneurial nation is already known. We aim to empower our youth to be at ease and venture into business.
“Mr. Speaker, recognising that more needs to be done, the government is today announcing a “One Million jobs initiative” to aggressively respond to the needs of the country. This is to promote growth in SMEs, support new ventures, and stimulate innovation and start-ups,” Ofori-Atta revealed.