Accra, April 17, GNA - The University Students Association of Ghana, (USAG) on Saturday held a National Youth Assembly in Accra to draft a youth manifesto for the 2004 general elections.

The manifesto, which would consider issues such as Education, Employment, Governance, Business and Entrepreneurship, Peace and Ethnicity, would be made available to the various political parties to adopt for possible implementation, should any of them win power. Over 120 participants from the various state-owned and private universities, including the executive council of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS), the Ghana Association of Professional Students and the Private Universities Students Association of Ghana (PUSAG) are attending the assembly.

Mr Keli Kwesi Delatta, President of USAG, said though most political parties had prepared their manifestoes, they were drafted without consultations with the youth, and particularly the various student bodies, which formed majority of the voting population. He said, "that could be explained that issues affecting the Ghanaian youth have not been well represented in those political manifestoes".

Mr Delatta said the assembly would, therefore, afford the youth a platform to express their candid views, opinions, and state of affairs, which directly affected them, and suggest solutions and ideas as to how to tackle those challenges.

A Youth Activist, Mr Prince Derrick Agyei, commended the present government for establishing the Board of National Youth Council, but added that the youth representation on the Council was minimal, and should, therefore, be reviewed.

He said since those members were all out of school and "had made it to some extent", they might not truly represent the views or know the real issues bordering the youth".