President John Dramani Mahama was very alarmed with the content of the investigative report on the erstwhile Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), a former Youth and Sports Minister has said.

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah said as a result of the alarming details, the president took the most “comprehensive action” any Ghanaian president had taken against cited officials and firms.

“All contracts were suspended [and] all payments suspended,” Mr Afriyie Ankrah mentioned as some of the measures taken by the president.

He was speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues over the weekend when he made these observations.

GYEEDA, established from the National Youth Employment Programme from the John Kufuor-led administration, has since metamorphosed into Youth Employment Agency (YEA).

Mr Afriyie Ankrah, under whom the Agency underwent the investigations, observed that: “It wasn’t as if monies have been stolen. What happened was that they had overspent.

“They had recruited more people than was budgeted for and the nature of contract was loose.”

There were situations that people had opened accounts with ghost names, he added.

He admitted that scrutinizing officials, some of whom were close pals, was one of the challenges he faced at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

“I can tell that when you look at the GYEEDA report and the recommendation and the consequential actions by the president, it is one of the most comprehensive actions that any president has ever taken and I can stick my neck out for that.”

The new-look Agency, now backed by law, has the objective to develop, coordinate, supervise and facilitate creation of jobs for the youth.

It is now under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.