A COUNTRY’S ability to marshal its human resource to attain set targets is, no doubt, a core component of any development framework.
More often than not, reference is made to the need to provide a sound foundation for the youth to develop their potential to enable them to contribute more meaningfully to the progress of their countries.
Many development experts are quick to point out that given the energies the youth exude, any development initiative that does not accommodate their input may not achieve the desired impact.
Beyond that, peace and security experts also identify the youth as a critical mass who need to be targeted when pursuing initiatives intended to foster peace and security.
The youth constitute a phenomenal force in the social, economic and political workings of any nation, hence any initiative that seeks to empower them in a very positive sense must be lauded.
Thus, the launch of a National Youth Policy by the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, yesterday is a very important step in the quest to provide the right conditions to develop Ghanaian youth.
The policy comes at a time when the country is taking bold and calculated steps to bring development to every nook and cranny of the country.
The issue of a National Youth Policy has been thrown forth and backwards many times and while there appears to be unanimity over its relevance to address the challenges of the time, its birth has been a difficult one.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that the launch of the policy should not only serve to guide the path of the youth but also unite them.
In a few parts of the country, the youth have become targets of feuding factions, whether in religious, political on chieftaincy conflicts, and have visited mayhem on one another, just to appease their sponsors and serve the sometimes very selfish and parochial interests of those sponsors.
All over the country, the youth are faced with some daunting challenges, including access to quality education, health, and the troubling problem of unemployment.
The DAILY GRAPHIC urges the youth to find inspiration in the document and take keen interest in the policy directives it offers to be able to effectively monitor their implementation.
It has been argued that many of the woes of the youth stem from the lack of a guiding document to appropriately inform initiatives aimed at developing their potential to ensure that they become agents of development and not of conflict and anarchy.
We also wish to echo the sentiments expressed by the Vice-President who, at the launch of the document, declared that the youth constituted the true wealth and future of the country and so addressing their hopes and aspirations should be an integral part of the nation’s socio-economic development.
He also touched on a very important issue when he advised the youth to always put the nation’s interest above their political interests.
A united, peace-loving and educated youth are what the country needs and as Ghanaians celebrate the launch of the National Youth Policy, it is our hope that this new dawn will mark a turning point in the proper formation of the character of our youth.
The DAILY GRAPHIC commends the government for introducing the policy and cautions against making it another document only fit for the shelves, without any rigorous efforts at making it practically meaningful.
As a policy, it should provide the blueprint for the empowerment of Ghanaian youth and be continuously subjected to critical evaluation to assess its impact and review it if ever the need arises.
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