Ayawaso Central Assembly holds mock parliament
A mock parliament aimed at instilling the spirit of cooperation and non-aggression as means of addressing perceived injustice among the youth, was on Thursday inaugurated at the Ayawaso Central municipality, in the Greater Accra Region.
Dubbed: ‘The Youth Parliament’, it is expected to create a diplomatic channel through which the youth can contribute to national debates and decision making on issues that affect their welfare.
The members of the mock parliament are youth drawn from various electoral areas who constitute themselves into the majority and the minority with a speaker, a clerk, secretary and other members.
The initiative spearheaded by the National Youth Authority and the African Union Youth Charter also sought to empower the youth to sensitise their peers to enable them to realise their constitutional rights, responsibilities and duties to master public speaking, debates, acquire knowledge and skills of group dynamics in a development-oriented multifaceted society.
The House elected youth leaders including Mawudzo Korto as Speaker, Habib Saeed as First Deputy Speaker, Kombat Bidaar, Second Deputy Speaker, Chris Konyo, Majority Leader and Nyarko Ansong, the Minority Leader.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Alhaji Mohammed Quaye, in a speech read on his behalf, said the establishment of the youth parliament would dissuade the youth from indulging in acts that lure them into acts of despondency.
“We need to imbibe the spirit of values and nature of democracy towards confronting the challenges that lure the youth into sporadic ethnic conflicts, land disputes and chieftaincy litigation often exploited by politicians and community leaders to accomplish their desires.
“The initiative will instill into the youth the spirit of cooperation and non-aggression pursuing perceived injustice, create diplomatic channels to contribute to national debates as well as add a voice to their future aspirations.
“The platform will also empower them considering the country’s democracy, partner youth development, promote democratic governance, accountability, transparency and national integration,” Alhaji Quaye noted.
He admonished the members to embrace oratory and communication skills, knowledge, build capacities, bridge gap between political parties, develop realistic ambitions and achievable visions towards providing solutions to community challenges.
BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU