Koforidua, Jan 29, GNA - Government from this year, would implement the youth employment programme designed to get as many youth as possible to gain employment through the assistance of the district Assemblies. To this end, Regional and District Employment Task Forces have been formed in the various Regional Co-ordinating Councils (RCC) and the Districts Assemblies (DA) to see to the implementation of the programme. The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Yaw Barimah, made this known in a speech read on his behalf at the opening of the 2nd Annual Delegates Conference of the Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) in Koforidua on Saturday.

He noted that, since the assumption of power, the government had not relented in it's effort to provide the necessary skills and conditions to enable the youth gain meaningful employment to sustain the economy.

The Minister mentioned for instance, the introduction of the Skills Training and Employment Placement (STEP) programme and the establishment of the 50-billion-cedi Youth Fund Credit facility, as part of the measures that the government had used to intervene in the unemployment issue.

He, therefore, called on the youth to stay focused on their vision of assuming higher responsibilities in the future and desist from acts of hooliganism and vandalism and take advantage of the opportunities opened before them.

The General Secretary of the YMCA, Mr Samuel Anim, called for more dedication and humility on the part of the youth to ensure that the future would be placed in efficient hands.

He reminded the delegates that in their capacities as representatives of their various branches and chapters, they were already in leadership positions and as Christians it was incumbent on them to make a difference in the midst of indiscipline that had eaten into the society.

Mr Anim asked them to endeavour to serve in any capacity geared towards the development of their respective communities in humility and respect for authority.

The National Chairman of the YMCA, Mr Kwame Gyimah Akwafo, emphasized that as a Christian organization, the core of their programmes should be based on communal service and volunteering. For him, the collective responsibility of the YMCA as an organization was to fashion out programmes and activities to ensure that the youth in the target group turned out to be responsible adults, saying, "because youth empowerment stands the risk of remaining a mirage".

He expressed the hope that the conference would come out with solutions to many of the challenges facing the youth especially and the country at large. In his welcome address, the Eastern Regional Secretary of the YMCA, Mr Daniel Ofosu, thanked the leadership of the Association for their visionary leadership that had sustained the association to achieve its ideals.

The conference was attended by fifty delegates across the country, members of the YMCA National Executive Council and members from sister organizations. 29 Jan 06