By
Bertha Badu-Agyei/Millicent Tamakloe, GNA
Adukrom, Nov 8, GNA
– The Okere District Assembly has set up an Okere ‘Empowerment Fund’ to support
the youth in the area to acquire employable skills as well as to set up their
own businesses.
The Fund supports
the cost of training into all forms of Technical/Vocational skills training to
address the youth employment in the area, using Technical and Vocational Skills
as the focus.
This was disclosed
in an interview with GNA, by Mr Daniel Kenneth, Okere District Chief Executive,
at a press briefing at Adukrom in the Eastern Region.
So far, he indicated
that the Fund had supported 24 youth who have been enrolled into welding,
auto-mechanics, steel bending, Aluminum and Glass fabrication and Architecture
training.
He said as part of
the support, all beneficiaries would be provided tools for the training and
start-up kits to start their own businesses after completion.
He observed that the
District had instituted a number of measures to improve on the economic
situation of the people especially the youth in the area by creating employment
opportunities in the Tourism and Agriculture sectors.
Mr Kenneth indicated
that some of the measures included the establishment of a 1,300 acre ‘Land
Bank’ in the District for commercial farming to boost the Planting for Food and
Jobs and Planting for Economic and Rural Development (PERD) programmes.
He explained that
the establishment of the land bank was to reduce the difficulty in acquiring
land for commercial purposes, particularly in the area of farming and urged the
youth to take advantage of it.
The DCE also
disclosed that 75 persons had been employed as field assistants under the
“Youth in Forestry” programme, 32 youth as Community Police Officers, 62 youth
as Sanitation Trainees and two as Youth in Sports Trainee for the District.
GNA
