Mahama’s GH¢10million Y.E.S Promise In Coma Condition

By: Nii Laryea Yemofio

The president, Mr. John D. Mahama did proposed to set up a GHc10m Youth Enterprise Support (YES) funds to facilitate the ideas of  young entrepreneurs in order to curbs the high unemployment and the financial challenges faced by most of them in the country. He made this known in the state of the nation address in February this year at the parliament house. He said, government have responded to the issues that confront the youth in our population, and they are also mindful of the need to ensure that young people are part of the process of finding the needed solutions. President Mahama indicated that the national policy document which was launched in 2010, have finalized work on an Action and Implementation Plan for the National Youth Policy.

 “Mr. Speaker, after several rounds of discussions with our young people and the entrepreneurs among them, we have also finalized work on what was proposed as a Youth Jobs and Enterprise Development Fund, now to be known as the Youth Enterprise Support (YES).  The ten million Ghana cedi (GH¢10million) Youth Enterprise Support (YES) initiative will provide opportunities for innovation and the creation of decent jobs by the youth of Ghana through mentorship and support. While YES is not a full answer to our job creation issues, it does reflect my commitment to the future of the Ghanaian youth. I encourage our young people to begin the process of organizing and formalizing their business ideas to access the facilities available under the YES” he said.

But some members of the youth have expressed their opinion on the issue that it seems it was just a political promised which is meant to be remaining in the “pipeline”. Currently, it is very difficult to ascertain any tangible information on the youth Enterprise Support fund project. It was officially thought to be a programme under the ministry of youth and sports, then to the National Youth Authority (NYA), as we speak the project is supposedly under the office of the president. All efforts made by Business & Labour Guide to get updates on the fund from the ministry of youth and sports to the NYA through to the former office of the president at the Osu castle proved futile, it was made known to us that the executive director in charge of the programme was out of town hence it will be difficult for us to get any information prior to the fund.

 This was the same statement made by the president during last year’s state of the nation address “Mr. Speaker, I stated in my address to the UN General Assembly last year that the youth are today's leaders and not future leaders. In order to enable our youth realise their full potential and contribute to National development, we have fashioned out comprehensive programmes including but not limited to:

A GH¢10 million Youth Jobs and Enterprise Development Fund which will be launched to encourage and support young people to become successful entrepreneurs and create sustainable job opportunities
Job and Enterprise Centres (JEC) will be established in all regions to help unemployed youth and those about to enter or prepare for the world of work.
Develop Youth Centres in Districts to facilitate youth meetings, interactions, cultural programs, conferences and inputs into District Assemblies' deliberative mechanisms
Continue with the National Youth Achievers Awards, which I introduced last year to institute and encourage Young Achievers”.