Tamale, Nov 18, GNA – Some youth groups in the Northern Region have commended the government over the ‘Youstart’ initiative in its 2022 budget and economic policy statement for the country.
The initiative which seeks to create about one million jobs will serve as an alternative for supporting young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital and technical support to launch and grow their own businesses.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, some youth leaders expressed optimism over the initiative and its ability to address the rising unemployment situation amongst the youth.
Ms Issah Rahama, Executive Director of Youth Alive Global (YAG), a youth empowerment organization said the YouStart initiative by the government in its 2022 budget was a laudable initiative because youth unemployment was gradually becoming a threat to National security and stability.
“As a youth advocate, my greatest fulfillment is to see the youth being engaged in productive ventures that will enrich them and make them more responsible to their families and the country”
She called on the government and other stakeholders to ensure that they worked towards the fulfilment of the budget statement to win the trust and confidence of the youth.
Mr Bawa Sheriff, immediate past President of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) in the Tamale Metropolis commended the government for the initiative, saying it would help cushion the unemployment situation in the country by engaging the youth in businesses that would provide incomes to protect livelihoods.
He called on the youth to position themselves to take advantage of the initiative geared towards minimizing youth unemployment.
“Most of the incidences of crime in our country could be traced to unemployment, this initiative in a way will complement other efforts of government in ensuring that crime and other deviant activities are reduced to minimum”.
Mr Issah Baba, Assembly Member for the Sagnarigu Electoral Area in the Sagnarigu Municipality in the Northern Region urged the government to stay true to its policies and programmes for the people, “I have no double about the relevance of this initiative, especially to the teeming unemployed youth, but my concern has to do with implementation and sustainability”
He called on the government to ensure the full implementation of the initiative to provide jobs and businesses for the youth to minimize rural-urban migration in the country.
GNA