By Benjamin Akoto
Sunyani, April 18, GNA – Nana Kofi Akantoa, the Amankorahene of Chiraa, in the Sunyani West Municipality, has lauded the idea of Mr John Dramani Mahama, Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, to split the Youth and Sports Ministry when re-elected.
He said it was time for leaders to strategically redefine Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to achieve targeted objectives that could move the country’s socio-economic development agenda forward.
The NDC Flagbearer, at an inaugural ceremony of a Youth Wing of the NDC, announced his intention to divide the Ministry of Youth and Sports when he again becomes president.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, Nana Akantoa stated that the proposal should not be a mere talk and asked the party’s leadership to be eager to adopt it as a manifesto plank that aimed at addressing the challenges faced by youth in the country.
Nana Akantoa stated that the coupling of youth and sports outfits undoubtedly had created a significant disconnect from the multiplicity of issues affecting young people, adding that the youth issues in the country suggested that adolescent and youth development was often viewed through a narrow lens, primarily focusing on sports.
Nana Akantoa said both the Youth Employment Agency and the Ministry of Employment had failed in tackling the issue of youth unemployment since report by the Ghana Statistical Service on February 25, 2024, stated that the rate of unemployment among the youth had risen to 14.7 per cent, a significant increase from 5.11 percent reported in 2016.
He mentioned that one of the obstacles in addressing youth concerns was lack of systematic efforts to focus on the youth through deliberate policy interventions of establishing a specific Ministry dedicated to addressing issues faced by young people.
Nana Akantoa said findings from the 2021 Ghana Population and Housing Census indicated that the youth population in the country now accounted for approximately 40 per cent of the total population growing at an alarming rate.
He explained that due to the prevalence of youth in Africa’s populations political parties had been attempting to attract the youth vote by making promises that often amount to mere propaganda, since such promises were frequently made without actions to effectively address the concerns of the youth.
Nana Akantoa urged the younger generation to embrace Mr. Mahama’s intervention to effectively tackle the challenges of the youth in the nation.
GNA
