I was astonished and taken aback on Tuesday, 28th January 2014, when I heard Mr. Sekou Nkrumah on Radio xyz referring to the National Youth Authority (NYA) as a “useless” entity and went ahead to call for its scraping simply because the NYA has been ineffective and inefficient in the discharge of their mandate in meeting the aspiration of the young people of our dear nation.
The NYA which was established in 1974 by NRDC 241as the government agency responsible for empowering young people to adequately assume the responsibility of adult life and to contribute to national development can by no stretch of imagination be scraped merely because Sekou Nkrumah is dissatisfied with its operation.
Admittedly, the NYA has for some time now been dormant largely because it has not been accorded the necessary attention by successive governments and lacked the competent leadership to spearhead the affairs of youth development, but scraping it must not be an option for an agency established solely for youth who constitute a significant proportion of Ghana’s population. Perhaps, Sekou’s attention must be drawn to the fact that despite its challenges, the authority in fulfilment of employment and sustainable livelihood needs of young people still admits and provides technical and vocational skills training in eleven (11) Youth Leadership and Skills Training Institutes nationwide. It also offers employment opportunities to countless number of Ghanaian people across the country.
Rather than call for its scraping, Sekou will be rendering to the young people of this country and the entire employees of NYA substantial service by capitalizing on the large media coverage his comments attract to call on government to as a matter of urgency consider prioritize the activities of young people and channel more resources for the authority to efficiently live up to their mandate. I will be delighted to hear him also call on parliament to expedite the passage of the youth bill which is adversely affecting the authority in their bid to address issues affecting young people.
Unlike Sekou Nkrumah, who was sacked as the National Youth Coordinator for not providing any “vision or plan” for the authority, Ras Mubarak, the newly appointed acting National Coordinator and arguably the only youth to have been appointed to that office since its establishment has in less than two (2) months showed clear vision and also come out with an implementation framework to serve as a guide for the implementation of the national youth policy .This has been the cry of many youth groups in the country over the years and I am highly gratified by this move so far by the new leader. It is my greatest expectation that he revives the NYA to the utmost benefit of every single Ghanaian youth.
I wish him success in his newly assumed responsibility.

Farid Shamsu-deen.
President, Youth Services Foundation (YOSEF)
Youthinacademia@gmail.com
0233275280/0244275280