Kumasi, May 2, GNA - The Reverend Father Dorson Amoah, parish priest in-charge of the Ashanti New Town Saint Anne's Anglican church in Kumasi, has expressed concern about the increasing spate of immorality among the youth in the country.

He noted that drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, prostitution, alcoholism, indiscipline and other immoral practices have eaten into the fabric of society and stressed the need to check such practices. Rev Amoah was inaugurating the Manhyia Youth Club at Ashanti New town in Kumasi on Saturday.

He explained that such problems have come about as a result of low level of education and the inability of most of the youth to acquire vocational training skills to enable them to work to earn a living. Rev Amoah appealed to parents and guardians to invest in the education of their wards to enable them play more positive roles in the development of the country in the future.

He commended members of the club for coming together and urged them to ensure that their activities and programmes become a permanent feature to improve their well-being as well as the people in the communities in which they live.

Mr. Prince G. Quansah of the Ashanti regional branch of the National Youth Council (NYC) said it is the policy of the government that leadership training institutions be established in the country to train many youth in vocational skills to help them become self-employed. He appealed to the youth to take advantage of the opportunities and acquire vocational training skills to help them contribute meaningfully towards the socio-economic advancement of Ghana.

Mrs Joana Osei Bediako, chairperson of the club said the club, formed two years ago with a membership of 32, now has 107. She said Ashanti New Town, which was a very important area in the Kumasi metropolis, is now dying out as a result of some nefarious activities and cultural practices of groups of gamblers, drug addicts, drug traffickers and armed robbers.

Mrs Bediako noted that to arrest the situation, the club was formed to help educate the residents about such negative practices and help to raise the good image of the residents.