The National Youth Authority (NYA) says it is working to secure the services of experts from India to train Ghanaian youth on solar manufacturing and installation across the 16 geographical regions of the country.

According to a top official of the Authority, strenuous efforts were being made to bring into the country solar manufacturing and installation experts from India to conduct training sessions for young Ghanaians countrywide on a pilot study.

The Acting Programmes Manager of NYA, Mr Mumuni Suleman, who disclosed this during a youth forum in Wa where chiefs, youth groups and key stakeholders participated, expressed the hope that the package when successful would help mitigate the unemployment challenge facing the youth.

“The National Youth Authority is in the process of seeking the services of an Indian company, which is into solar panel manufacturing and installation to train some selected youth across the 16 regions of Ghana,” he said.

“I want to assure you that the pilot study will be done in the Upper West Region”.

The Upper West Regional House of Chiefs called on the youth to take advantage of continuous sunshine in the Region to go into solar panel installation.

Naa Bob Loga, the Chief of Tibani, who represented the House of Chiefs, appealed to the youth to consider exploiting the abundant sunshine for economic benefits to improve their living conditions.

“Going into solar panel manufacturing and installation is one of best ways the youth of the Region can take advantage of the sun to get employment,” he said.

“There is a lot of sunlight in the Region and we just let it go waste and yet we complain of youth unemployment. I want to challenge the youth in the Region to go into solar installation and manufacturing as an occupation”.

Madam Mary Bangzie, the Regional Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Focal Person, who represented the Ghana Health Service, said the number of teenage pregnancies recorded by various health facilities in the Region was alarming.

She called on stakeholders to consider pushing up the marriage age to 20 years, since at age 18 most young girls were still unable to take concrete decisions for themselves.

She said about 80 percent of teenage pregnancy cases recorded in the Region originated from early marriages, but it was virtually practically difficult to punish the perpetrators who take advantage of the innocent girls who sometimes openly declare in court they love their men (husbands).

The youth forum was organized by NYA and supported by Plan International under the theme: “Creating an enabling environment for effective participation of the youth in decision making process”.