Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has observed that under the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, the perception about Zongo youth is fast-changing.
According to him, over the years the Zongo youth were used in the pursuit of the parochial interest of politicians including being recruited as Vigilantes and in some cases criminals
He noted that the Zongo youth were mostly used to cause confusion and create chaos to satisfy the needs of some politicians who are their paymasters
But with the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the youth in the Zongo across the country are been provided with the necessary development through skills training among others.
He indicated that the government has decided to provide the youth of the Zongo communities education and development because, that is the conduit to ensure that they are not being manipulated by self-seeking politicians
As a result of this, he said government developed two vehicles, the Zongo Ministry and the Zongo development fund which have since been working at providing Zongo communities with the needed development.
According to him, the failure of the Zongo communities to develop and move out of poverty is not in the interest of the current government underscoring the need for massive investment in the Zongos to transform the lives of residents.
The Vice President noted that since they took over the government, 40 Zongo youth have been sent to Cuba to study Medicine which is one of the best initiatives aimed at transforming these communities and making residents national assets.
“The Zongo youth were just been used as fodder for violence but we want to change that. This year we’ve sent forty Zongo students to Cuba to study Medicine. This is the first time something like this is happening. So we want them to get education. So there is a change that we are making in terms of emphasis. We want to bring development and education.” He disclosed in an interview with URA Radio in Bolgatanga.
