NYA  Launches Youth Month

The Chief Executive of the National Youth Authority Pius Enam Hadzide has commended Ghanaian youth for their  contribution to the growth of the various  sectors of the country’s economy.

He said their contribution  including serving as a significant source of human capital for both the public and private sector labour market, would always be valuable to the state.

Speaking at the launch of this year’s National Youth Month Celebration in Accra, he said , the government would continue creation opportunities for  the estimated 11.7 million youth in Ghana to thrive and be useful to the country.

He said the celebration is dedicated to providing opportunities for advocating policies and initiatives that enable the youth to thrive and actively engage in matters of national interest.

This year’s celebration which started from August 1 is scheduled to end on September 3 is under the theme “breaking barriers: creating a stronger youth development ecosystem”.

He said that the Authority is fully set to “embrace and appreciate the youth as the driving force of progress whose passion, innovation and resilience shape the trajectory of society”.

Touching  on taxes, Mr Hadzide  called on  the public to accept the new lottery tax implementation by taking a holistic view of its general impact rather than the economic benefits .

“It is undeniable that Government’s decision to implement this tax had generated a considerable amount of debate among both the political class and the citizenry. We at the National Youth Authority have  taken note of this debate and have come to a firm conclusion that it is healthy one that is necessary for  consensus building on matters of national discourse,” he said

The CEO of NYA said this  to provide opportunities for the youth to advocate for  policies and actively engage in matters of national interest.

 He said, the authority had taken the firm position to support the new tax which took effect on August 15, 2023 considering the negative impact the increasing lottery, betting and gambling industry was having on the youth.

He cited some of the negative effects of lottery and betting as including a penchant to ‘get rich quick’ among those who indulged in it at the expense of hard work, and commitment to duty, which was promoting laziness.

According to him the situation was  affecting education since some students were seen during school hours  at betting centers than the classroom or behind their books.

The obsession for betting, he said, was also serving as an enabler that was promoting social vices such as stealing and robbery.

Mr Hadzide said the argument being made that the youth were involved in betting due to lack of jobs was a populist one since the government had created hundreds of jobs in the public sector and opportunities for entrepreneurs to thrive and create millions of jobs.

He said the introduction of the tax would discourage the youth from pursuing the get rich quick  syndrome and country to resist the temptation of becoming a country where the young people  equates success to gambling rather than hard work.

He therefore urged the youth to visit the offices of NYA across the country to be exposed to some interventions available to enable them pursue their entrepreneurial agenda.

 The youth month would be marked with series dialogues and initiatives including a multi-stakeholders dialogue, which comprises consultative meetings with government agencies, development partners, civil society organizations and private sector industries to facilitate the building of synergies and linkages between key stakeholders for collaboration towards addressing the needs of young people in Ghana.

BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG