YEA CEO touts recruitment gains, says Agency owes no beneficiaries

Speaking during a familiarisation tour of the Upper East Region, Mr Basintale said the Agency had made significant progress in addressing longstanding challenges with delayed payments while expanding employment opportunities for young Ghanaians.

According to him, beneficiaries previously experienced delays of between six months and one year in receiving their allowances, a situation he said had improved under his leadership.

“In the past, beneficiaries’ allowances were delayed for six months, seven months and sometimes even one year. Today, I can confidently say that we are not owing YEA beneficiaries,” he stated.

Mr Basintale also disclosed that monthly allowances for beneficiaries under the Community Police module had been increased from GH¢500 to GH¢800, representing a 60 percent increase.

He explained that the adjustment was intended to ease the financial burden on beneficiaries and improve their working conditions.

“When I took over office, community police were taking GH¢500. We had to push the necessary boundaries to ensure that we increased beneficiaries’ allowances. It is not absolute, but it is better than before,” he said.

Beyond improvements in allowances, the YEA CEO highlighted the Agency’s contribution to youth employment through its various recruitment programmes.

He disclosed that more than 12,000 young people had been recruited under the Community Police module, while approximately 5,000 beneficiaries had been engaged under Community Fire Services.

According to him, more than 5,000 beneficiaries had also been recruited under the Prison Services module, with about 6,000 engaged as Community Medical First Responders.

He further cited the recruitment of approximately 6,000 beneficiaries under the Zongo Empowerment Programme, implemented in collaboration with Arabic institutions.

Mr Basintale said the Agency’s interventions, including its Labour Exchange Programme, had created employment opportunities across several sectors of the economy.

He maintained that the YEA had become an important institution in addressing youth unemployment, arguing that the withdrawal of its programmes would have significant consequences for thousands of young people.

“If we decide to withdraw all our beneficiaries, trust me, more than a hundred thousand young people will become unemployed,” he stated.

The CEO stressed that the Agency’s mandate extended beyond recruiting beneficiaries to ensuring that they received adequate support and improved working conditions.

He said efforts to strengthen payment systems and increase allowances formed part of measures to improve the welfare of young people engaged under the various employment modules.

Mr Basintale also commended former executives of the Agency for their contributions to its development, acknowledging that its achievements reflected the collective efforts of successive leadership teams and staff.

“The reason why we are here today is to remind ourselves of the collective successes we have chalked together and the journey we have walked together,” he said.

He urged staff and stakeholders to remain committed to strengthening the Agency’s operations and expanding opportunities for young people.

The familiarisation tour provided an opportunity for the CEO to engage the Agency’s structures in the Upper East Region, review its progress and discuss measures to improve programme delivery.

A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Joseph Napoleon Anaaya | Bolgatanga

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