<<Print>>

The Deputy Eastern Regional Minister Mavis Ama Frempong has stated that the implementation of the Youth in Road Maintenance (YiRM) module in the past few years has immensely helped to reduce the burden of youth unemployment and therefore needs to be sustained. Ms. Frempong has therefore called on the government to adequately resource beneficiaries under the module to perform their duties effectively in order to improve the bad conditions of the road network in the country. The Minister made the call during the closing ceremony of a 9-day training programme for Regional Supervisors and their Deputies in Koforidua in the Eastern Region. The training which brought together 20 participants from all the ten regions was organized by Zeera Group, implementers of the module in collaboration with Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA). It was to help improve the knowledge and shape the expertise of the participants on the field and as well as help to manage their subordinates on the field. The minister called on beneficiaries under the module to also do their part by working hard to sustain the programme and reduce youth unemployment. According to the Minister, many at times government institute youth employment programmes only for them to collapse because of the lack of commitment on the part of the beneficiaries. �Therefore I will advice you the beneficiaries to eschew laziness in the line of your duties to make this module a success�. The Minister also called for greater collaboration between YiRM and the Ministry of Roads and Highways to address some nuisance on the roads such as the illegal construction of speed rumps some community members. The Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr. Isaac Adjei Mensah noted that the role of Youth in Road Maintenance is national development cannot be over emphasized especially in the areas of youth employment and road maintenance. �Information indicates that, currently about 7000 officers have benefited from this module.This goes a long way to indicate government�s commitment and frantic effort that has been put in place to curtail the rate of unemployment in the country� he said. He said the training programme was to help the beneficiaries to deliver exceptionally on their areas of specialization in order to meet the needs of the general public. He emphasized government�s commitment to ensure that the intellectual resources and skills of the youth are harnessed to promote national development. The National Coordinator of YiRM, Awal Mohammed said modern trends in road maintenance call for the need to periodically improve the knowledge of beneficiaries in order to become innovative in their operations and activities. Mr. Mohammed therefore tasked the Supervisors and their deputies to go out there and implement what they have been taught on the field. He said it was through the work of the beneficiaries that the public can attest that �indeed the tax payers� money has been put into good use�. Participants during the 9-day programme were trained on topics such as the Concept of Maintenance; Maintenance Management; Maintenance Activity and Specification; Supervision/Monitoring and Reporting; and the Procurement of Maintenance Works. Certificates were awarded to the participants at the end of the training.