Mallam Ahmed Harun, Imam of Amanase in the Ayensuano District of the Eastern Region, has underscored the need for the country to empower the youth to enable them to take up the challenge and impact positively on the society.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) shortly after interacting with the youth of the Amanase Zongo, he said the youth needed to be recognized to encourage them that they were on track and motivate them to strive on.

He also called for a collaborative effort to reward the youth and to encourage them to strive for excellence and serve as role models in society.

Imam Harun tasked them to imbibe only the positive attitudes of developed countries and combine them with local virtues to unearth their potentials to facilitate their development.

He said the country’s population was dominated by the youth and referred to the recent census, which put the youth below 30 years at more than 50 per cent of the population.

The Imam mentioned the provision of sufficient educational opportunities, health care and job creation as some of the challenges posed by the increased population of the youth, for which reason the government had initiated programmes, such as the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), to create jobs for the youth.

He asked religious and organisational groups in the country to refrain from abusing the dignity of opinion leaders and those in responsible positions.

The Chief of Amanase Zongo, Alhaji Allassan Hudu, appealed to the wealthy to help them renovate their mosque, which had not seen any rehabilitation for over 20 years.

The chief and the Imam estimated that it would require about GHC3,000 to repair work on the mosque, which included replacement of windows, doors and their flames, changing of leaked corrugated roofing sheets and damaged ceiling, floor tiles, patching works and painting, on the facility.