The youth advised to be wary of war-mongers

The Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, has appealed to the youth to be wary of war-mongers who incite them to violence.

He said there would not be a place to call home when they cooperate with “greedy, ego-centric charlatans “to destroy Ghana that had become a beacon of hope and promise for many African countries, Africans in the Diaspora and friendly countries.

Mr Afriyie-Ankrah said Ghana is a cohesive country with no sharp tribal divisions, and so any person who tried to pitch one tribe against the other is the bitterest enemy of Ghanaians.

He was speaking at the graduation ceremony and presentation of equipment to 700 graduates of the Local Enterprises and Skills Development (LESDEP) Program at Koforidua on Friday.

Among the things presented are tricycles, mini-trucks, mini-vans, water tankers, hair dryers, sterilizers, gas ovens with gas cylinders, cooking utensils, automatic photo cameras, embroidery machine and outboard motors.

He said since the project was launched a year ago, it had trained and set up 19,600 people in various vocations and trades and explained that, due to the rate at which the beneficiaries are paying back the cost of the equipments given to them on hire-purchase to start their businesses, the Ministry had decided to increase the beneficiaries to 40,000 by the end of the year.

The Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, said the 700 people formed the first batch of the 2,017 people who had been trained in the region.

He said bank accounts had been opened for the beneficiaries with flexible repayment terms to enable the beneficiaries to pay back the cost of the equipment given them.

The National Coordinator of LESDEP, Mr Adem Gariba, said the project was non-partisan and targeted at all Ghanaians; he appealed to those who had written their names but had not benefitted from the training or the equipment to exercise patience.

The New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Alex Asamoah, urged the beneficiaries to pray for the political leaders of the country and encourage them to preach and speak peace as the country draws near elections.

Nana Kondua Kesse, Oyokohene who chaired the function, appealed to media personnel especially radio presenters, to be circumspect in their presentation and avoid interpretative reporting.**