Government chided for breaching the trust of the youth

Kumasi, June 1, GNA - The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has chided the Mills Administration for the mass dismissal of employees of the National Youth Employment (NYEP), accusing it of insensitivity and breach of the trust of the country's youth, who voted them into power. It said the government's decision to send these young men and women home was inhuman and absolutely unjustified.

Mr Gideon Boako, the Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer, told a press conference in Kumasi that the argument that those employees, were expecte d to exit after two years was false. He said there was no such exit plan under the programme as the government was profusely battling to get Ghanaians to believe. Mr Boako warned that sending the NYEP employees home, especially tho se on the "Community Policing Module", could be detrimental to the nation's security. He said the NPP was disturbed by reports of alleged sale of NYEP for ms by functionaries of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) at a co st as high as GH¢250.00 to prospective applicants.

"It is very disheartening for a government, which claims to be seeki ng the welfare of the youth to turn its back on them with such a big deception." Mr Boako vowed that the NPP would ensure that all those sacked were re-engaged when the party returned to power in the 2012 polls. He said they were now establishing a data base of all dismissed NYEP

employees so that it would be easier to get them back to work.

Mr Boako urged affected persons to register with the party. He expressed the misuse by government of the state security apparatu s for the arrest and detention of NPP activists on flimsy excuses, cautioni ng that, the youth of the party would not be intimidated by such crude tacti cs. He called on the security agencies, especially the police, to be fai r and move away from selective justice in their dealings with members of al l the political parties.