Government to use ICT to engage youth in decision making - Humado

Mr. Clement Kofi Humado, Minister of Youth and Sports, on Friday said plans were underway to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT), to create an electronic platform to engage the youth in the decision making process of the country.

He said policy issues pertaining to the youth would be made available on the National Youth Authority website to be debated on by the youth and come out with recommendations, which would be forwarded to Parliament for consideration. Mr. Humado announced this when Mr. Seth Oteng, Executive Director of Youth Bridge Foundation, and some African youth delegates paid a courtesy call on him in Accra.

The delegation presented a communiqué of the just-ended African Youth and Governance Conference (AYGC), which was attended by delegates from 31 African Countries in Accra.

The sector minister noted that youths at the district levels would not be left out as they would also be part of the deliberations through the District Assemblies, after which a report would be submitted to the national level. He assured the delegation of government’s commitment to ensuring that the recommendations were considered in programmes for the youth.

Mr. Oteng said the conference urged African Governments to create an enabling environment to promote partnerships for job creation.

He stressed the need for governments to develop models to attract the youth to agri-business and increasingly invest in the agriculture sector which had the potential of employing many people.

Professor N’Dri Assie-Lumumba Patron, AYG Conference Initiator and Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Sciences, Cornell University expressed appreciation to government for its contribution towards the conference.

She urged government to continue to empower the youth in the country, adding “dealing with issues relating to the youth is dealing with issues of development”.