Kyebi-East Akyem -- PARTICIPANTS AT the Kyebi "People's Assembly" forum appealed to the government to create more employment avenues for the unemployed youth who have taken to drug and other criminal activities, such as armed robbery.

Again, they appealed to the government to take second look at pension scheme and other service benefits that workers receive when they go on retirement, which are always meager.

Mrs. Georgina Frimpong, a nurse, noted that most of the country's health workers are joining the exodus train because of poor conditions of service in the health sector.

According to her, majority of nurses are prepared to serve in the country more than seek greener pastures elsewhere.

The Deputy Minister of Communications and Technology, Mr. John Achiluwor, disclosed that by the time the Malaysian Telecommunication contract was abrogated, the country was almost owing every International Telecommunication (IT).

He said in an effort to improve the IT system in the country, the government has contracted a telecommunication company based in Norway called TELENOR to provide more than 400,000 telephone lines nationwide between two and three years.

Accordingly, under the contract, if TELENOR fails to provide the liens, they would be fined for deceiving Ghanaians.

On the issue of security, the Deputy Interior Minister, Mr. Kwadjo Afram Asiedu, stated that very soon the malfunctioning of security equipment will be a thing of the past.

The government spokesman on Finance, Nana Ohene Ntow, said that the long delays in increasing fuel prices by government contributed a lot to the original debt Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) was owing.

Chronicle observations throughout the fora in the Eastern Region was that women felt reluctant to contribute by way of either asking questions or offering pieces of advice, except a few of them, thus making the men dominate in the exercise.