Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister has urged the youth in the region to venture into private partnership businesses to improve their living conditions and move the private sector forward.

He said the youth could play a key role in moving the private sector to a greater height if given the needed support and encouragement.

Mr Darko-Mensah said the development of the youth was dear to his heart and promised to champion the course of the youth.

The Regional Minister said when he inaugurated the Regional Police Fire and Youth committees in Takoradi.

The three committees which have 13 members each are mandated to advise the various institutions they represent on matters relating to their administration.

Article 204 (1) chapter 15 of the 1992 constitution, stipulates that there shall be established for each region a Regional Police committee, while Act 537(1997) section 13/14 provides for the composition and functions of the Regional Fire service committee.

The Ghana National youth Act 939 (2016) section 21/22 also provides for the composition and functions of the regional youth committee, hence the composition of the three committees.

Mr Darko-Mensah said the youth were the driving force of the nation's economy and therefore tasked them to focus on entrepreneurship and private partnership businesses with concentration on digitization and ICT.

The Regional Minister congratulated all the committee members and prayed that they work hard to make a difference in terms of improved performance by the institutions for which they have oversight responsibility.

Mr Richard Nsenkyire, Managing Director of Samartex Timber and plywood Firm and chairman of the Youth committee, on behalf of the other committees thanked the Regional Minister for the confidence reposed in them and pledged that they would work diligently to enhance the development of the region.

“We will create the enabling environment for innovation to flourish, the culture of entrepreneurship will be intelligently fostered where the youth becomes the pioneers of modernized production processes."

Mr Nsenkyire said no youth would be left behind in the programmes they would develop in the region, irrespective of their political, tribal, religious and culture differences.

He hinted that a comprehensive business plan would be developed for the youth development in the region, adding that skills centers would be provided in all the districts to enable the youth to learn various trades and vocations.

Mr Nsenkyire said the committee would help provide internship and placement drive for industries in the region and other parts of the country and for students in the universities.

He said the committee would help formalized counselling, mentorship/coaching programmes, as well as assign role models to the youth in all the districts, adding that “we will embark on comprehensive and elaborative training of trainers and refresher programmes for the skills development, TVET and COTVET centres.