LET'S SUSTAIN THE NYEP

ONE of the major challenges facing all governments, particularly those in developing countries, is the teeming mass of unemployed youth who roam the streets and engage in unproductive activities.
Since it is said that the devil finds work for idle hands, this group of unemployed people are exploited, sometimes by politicians, chieftaincy contractors and criminal elements in society to create tension.
In the opinion of the DAILY GRAPHIC, it is this availability of unemployed youth to be used by any person with an ulterior motive which poses the greatest threat to any country that does not take steps to address this unemployment problem, not to talk about their marginalisation as far as productivity is concerned.
In an effort to go around these problems, the Kufuor government introduced the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to create job opportunities for the youth. Strangely enough, this rather laudable programme was met with stiff opposition from certain political quarters which looked at the programme through a pair of political binoculars. Apart from this, there was also the lack of resources which stiffled its smooth implementation.
At the initial stages, those engaged as co-ordinators of the programme attempted to kill the initiative by selling the forms meant for prospective applicants. When the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment managed to deal with those co-ordinators, then came the problem of prompt payment of salaries to those employed under the NYEP.
The NYEP is a laudable effort by the government to create jobs, empower the youth to lead more productive lives and contribute their quota to the development of the country.
That is why the DAILY GRAPHIC believes that whatever the challenges, the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment should take steps to address them, so that the lofty objectives outlined could be attained.
Therefore, we find it refreshing that the President has directed the Ministries of Manpower, Youth and Employment and Finance and Economic Planning to take the needed action to remove all the bottlenecks impeding the smooth implementation of the NYEP.
The unfortunate thing is that when the idea of the NYEP was mooted and plans put in place to implement it, the government had not put in place the financial arrangements to fund it.
That was why, at certain stages, attempts were made by the government to draw funds from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the HIPC Fund, the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and, recently, the determination to fall on the talk tax.
As a way of addressing the funding problem, we think it is good that the government has decided to put on hold further recruitment of personnel onto the programme until its cash flow problems have been streamlined.
While that is being done, we are of the opinion that the authorities should seek support from more interested groups, including political parties, in resolving the problems militating against the smooth implementation of the programme.
It is our considered opinion that all political parties and, indeed, the entire Ghanaian populace, must be interested in job creation, so that the high rate of unemployment in the country can be tamed. Unemployment is a problem that will continue to confront us into the foreseeable future and the earlier we collectively resolve to address it, the better it will be for the country and its people.