The National Youth Authority (NYA) has initiated processes toward a review of the National Youth Policy, to make it more responsive to needs and aspirations of the youth.

Should things go according to plan, the new policy will be ready within the first quarter of next year, the B&FT has learned.

The current national youth policy, titled “Toward an empowered youth, impacting positively on national development”, is a government document that guides related stakeholders in the implementation of youth-focused policies, projects and programmes.

Since launch of the policy in 2010 and its accompanying implementation plan in 2014, it has failed to meet real aspirations of the youth owing to identifiable flaws in the use of demographic data and minimal outreach across the country.

The new leadership of the NYA has said it wants to reverse the trend and ensure the Ghanaian youth are well empowered, and are patriotic, loyal and motivated to take up the mantle of leadership, and to realise their dreams and potential.

Addressing a stakeholder meeting to kick-start the review process in Accra, Chief Executive Officer of the authority Emmanuel Asigri indicated that the review has been necessitated by need for an updated and executable policy that will address modern aspirations of the youth.

“We are in a make or break situation as youth leaders and workers… we need a new youth policy that captures and agitates the desire of Ghana’s youth to see leadership, leveraging political will to solve the challenges of our time.

“This is why the NYA will soon begin collating ideas to improve the current youth policy; one that is updated, inclusive and executable.”

He added: “The new policy will be a factory for transforming youthful potential into finished products for empowerment and national development”.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Operations at the NYA, Bright Acheampong, told the B&FT that the new policy will be developed through a bottom-up approach to include inputs from the grassroots and stakeholders, whose cause the various interventions will serve.

He said the new National Youth Policy will be an all-inclusive document that is workable, and its implementation will be extended to reach the majority of youth across the country.

“Today, we are engaging the youth leadership of various political parties, youth-based pressure groups and other stakeholders; this is the curtain raiser that will initial the review process.

“We will consult both the grassroots and boardrooms to gather perspectives from passionate people; the idea is to come up with a document that will be workable and acceptable,” he noted.