Agona Swedru (C/R), Aug. 11 GNA-The Minister of Manpower Youth and Employment, Nana Akomea has called on churches to invest in their young people with marketable skills that would make them functionally sound and employable.

According to him the government on its part was doing well in helping to curb the youth unemployment problem by the introduction of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP). The Minister said in an address read for him at the opening of the 10th Biennial Delegates Conference of the Methodist Church Youth Fellowship at Agona Swedru on Friday. The four-day conference was under the theme: "witnessing to our faith as youth in Christ".

He said, the church should try and engage in programmes that would actively involve the youth in the church, thus making them self-employed.

Nana Akomea urged the church to instill in the youth a sense of discipline so that they would have respect for the laws of the land, adding that role models in the church should groom and mentor the youth. Your role as young people in the development of the nation is to be trustworthy, honest, hardworking and patriotic, he said. The Minister congratulated the Methodist church for complementing the states effort in the provision of Health and education facilities to train the people.

He encouraged the youth to take advantage of the skills and training being provided and endeavour to establish their own micro business and appealed to them to form cooperatives to enhance their access to credit from the rural banks.

Nana Akomea advised the youth to mindful with their sexual behaviour to avoid contracting the HIV/AIDS pandemic since it has no respecter of anyone.

The most Rev. Dr. Aboagye-Mensah, Presiding Bishop of the Methodist church, Ghana, in his goodwill message urged the youth to surrender themselves to Christ and acknowledge him as their lord of every aspect of their lives. He urged them to ensure that nobody intimidate them to gain their personal ambition should make their youth exuberant more useful to the society.

In his goodwill message the District Chief Executive for Agona, Mr. Ben Mensah expressed the hope that, at the end of the conference the understanding of the participants would be better enhanced so that they would not only concentrate on spiritual activities but also pay attention to social responsibilities.

The connexional chairman of the Youth Fellowship, Nana Ofosu Behome expressed regret about the behaviour of the youth in getting rich quick, thus indulging in anti-social vices and dangerous activities that offen landed them in troubles.

He urged students to desist from hooliganism and vandalism in schools since such habit did not augur well for the development of the country.