Tamale, Sept 20, GNA - Some 13 learning centres in five districts in the Northern Region on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment in Tamale to equip them to be able to provide employable skills to the youth. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the ministry would be spending about 1.1 billion cedis under its Community-Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) and it would also provide start-up capital to the youth to engage in income-generating activities upon completion of their courses.

So far, about 312 million cedis is readily available from the ministry's confers for the first batch of trainees in the beneficiary learning centres that include the Tamale Metropolis, Yendi, Saboba/Chereponi and East and West Gonja districts to start operation.

Some 165 individuals who would benefit from the project would acquire skills in smock and cloth weaving, bee keeping, rabbitry and soap making.

Mr Issah Ketekewu, the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, speaking at the signing ceremony, stressed the importance of the programme and advised the beneficiary individuals to pay attention to the learning process.

He advised the beneficiary districts to take up the challenge of making the programme succeed and called on operators of the learning centres to be transparent, self-less and accommodating enough to offer good training to the beneficiaries.

Mr. Baba Imoro, Zonal Coordinator of the ministry, said the exercise was seen as part of the government's agenda to reduce poverty from the rural areas.

He said it was the intention of the government to assist these centres through the project to develop into centres of excellence that could be used as basis to develop capacities and skills of rural enterprises for manufacturing quality products. Mr. Issah Ketekewu signed the MOU on behalf of the government while District Chief executives of the beneficiary districts signed on behalf of the learning centres. 20 Sept 06