The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, has said the government intends to engage more than 100,000 youth between this month and December 2010 as part of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP). He also said the programme intended to seek government approval to increase the allocated income to the NYEP from 20 per cent to 90 per cent of the Communication Service Tax, commonly known as “Talk Time Tax” (TTT). Mr Pelpuo said this at his ministry’s turn at the meet-the-press series held at the Ministry of Information in Accra yesterday. He pointed out that it was envisaged that more than 600,000 youth would be engaged under various modules of the programme by this year. “However actual employment figures stand at about 108,000, meaning that the programme has met less than 20 per cent of its employment target.” To make up for that shortfall, Mr Pelpuo said the ministry had plans to engage the services of about 100,000 between this month and December, 2010. The ministry said it planned to achieve the target through the implementation of new programmes including youth in beach cleaning, which would involve environmental protection and planting of coconut trees and mangroves. Others areas of employment are youth in agriculture, youth in mobile phone repairs and assemblage, youth in health extension, as well as youth in afforestation. To ensure adequate and regular funding for the smooth implementation of the programme, the minister said the NYEP intended to establish a fund to facilitate receipts of funds from private and foreign sources. He stated that the NYEP planned to organise a periodic head-count to ensure that absentees did not receive the programme’s benefits anymore. Mr Pelpuo stressed the importance of the youth in the development of a successful and sustainable nation. He explained that the ministry was working on a Draft Youth Bill which would soon be submitted to the Cabinet and then Parliament, in order to facilitate the implementation of its National Youth Policy. The minister provided an overview of the four primary institutions responsible for enforcing its objectives, which include the National Youth Council (NYC), the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), the National Sports College, Winneba and the National Sports Council (NSC). He outlined the role of the National Youth Council (NYC) as the managing body of institutes responsible for education and training programmes aimed at the youth. He said its main role was to “prepare young people from the transition of youth to an adult” and prepare them mentally and physically for employment. He said there were 11 Youth Leadership and Skills Training Institutes (YLSTIs) set up by the NYC which provided young people with a two-year training programme in areas such as Electrical Installation and Computer Studies. Additionally, there is a National Vocational Training Institute which provide the youth with the opportunity to further their education and qualifications. Mr Pelpuo informed media personnel who were present that the NVTI intended to enhance the content and duration of its courses from two to four years. The minister stated that the Government planned to replace the current Sports Law with a new legal regime to meet the requirements of the International Olympic Committee. He outlined the recent international success of Ghanaian teams in various sports in football, boxing and table tennis. The minister urged Ghanaians to focus on some lesser-known sports, “not just soccer,” adding that to achieve that goal the Government planned to build sport infrastructure and facilities as it did in reconstructing a modern hockey stadium in preparation for the African Cup for Nations tournament. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana