Manifesto Dialogues dissects youth employment policies of parties

The Manifesto Dialogue series organised by e.TV Ghana continues to gain momentum as it made a stop at the University of Ghana to discuss policies of the various political parties regarding youth employment.

Following the disqualification of some parties from the Presidential race, only three parties were scheduled for this event - the NDC, NPP and CPP.

The NDC's George Loh who had initially reported to the venue prior to the start of the event was however not present when it started, indicating he had a conflicting engagement. This did not however stall the programme.

The event which took place at the Commonwealth Hall was attended by student representatives of the various political parties, a section of the general public and some sympathisers of the parties.

Espousing some of the NPPs policies on youth employment, Nana Boakye said, the party will offer tax incentives to young entrepreneurs to encourage them to initiate start-ups,’’ adding that, “the Youth Enterprises Fund (YEF) will also be established to provide funding and business development services for businesses owned by young entrepreneurs, especially start-ups.’’

He continued that tax credits and other incentives will be given to companies that hire young graduates from tertiary institutions.

Highlighting the CPP’s youth employment plans, Isaac Winful Dadzie said, “the Convention People’s Party (CPP) will create Youth Activities Centres (YACs) in all districts which will serve as employment centres for the youth. We will also transform traditional apprenticeship and on-the-job training programmes to enable beneficiaries acquire relevant skills for self-employment.’’

He added that the party will not entertain private sector led development and IMF policies which stifle employment creation in the country. He disclosed that they will introduce a Youth Volunteerism Scheme (YVS) in order to inculcate the spirit of giving back to communities.

The students enliven the dialogues with questions to the parties on their policies and contributions on the topic under discussion.