Regional News of Tuesday, 22 December 2020

Source: GNA

YEA cautions youth against Christmas excesses

Sarah Afful, Central Regional Director of the Agency Sarah Afful, Central Regional Director of the Agency

The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has advised Ghanaian youth to celebrate Christmas in moderation, devoid of misdeeds that will ruin their lives.

They must use the season as a stock-taking and self-examination period to be at peace with one another to create the congenial atmosphere necessary for personal and national development.

Ms Sarah Afful, Central Regional Director of the Agency, gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast on Tuesday.

She expressed gratitude to all Ghanaian youth who would be on duty to render essential services to the nation during the Yuletide.

“Your sacrifices at this time are very much appreciated by all,” she assured.

She told the youth to mark the joyous season bearing in mind that Christmas was a time of giving, which enjoins all to spare a thought for the underprivileged, the sick, the destitute and those who unfortunately were in prison.

According to her, remembering those in need during Christmas would afford them the opportunity to reflect on the bountiful blessings bestowed on them by God.

Touching on politics and youth development, Ms Afful said the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has kept faith with his promise of accelerating the creation of jobs for the youth of the country.

She underscored Government’s commitment to ensuring innovative-driven youth entrepreneurship programmes to facilitate the long-term economic growth of the country.

The President’s vision to assist young entrepreneurs to incubate business ideas that generate jobs, she noted, was designed to offer financial assistance to start-ups and small enterprises.

The development of entrepreneurs, she said, would be the most effective instrument of change for countries going through economic recession.

A whopping 100,000 youth have been employed under the various modules of the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) of which an appreciable number of them were indigenes of the Region and assured of more, she indicated.

She said all the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the Region have had their first share of job creation for the tens of thousands of young people who have been gainfully employed into the various models of the Agency among others.

The modules include, the Arabic Instructors, Graduate Internship, Sanitation as well as the Youth in Sports modules.

Additionally, government was embarking on a number of projects including the training of students under the student entrepreneurship initiative and supporting innovative entrepreneurs under the Presidential Pitch Programme, Ms Afful stressed.

Giving credence to her conviction, she stated that the number of jobs created by the Government had collapsed the Unemployed Graduates Associations (UGA) that existed under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

In that regard, the Youth Director, appealed to the youth to support the Government by working assiduously to better themselves to take full advantage of the various innovative initiatives of the government.