Editorial: Mr. Prez. Action Not Words

Last Saturday, Ghanaian across the country marked the 53rd Independence Day of our nationhood. We congratulate ourselves for having come this far but the question everybody seems to be asking is: have we achieved enough as a nation? President John Evans Atta Mills, in delivering his Independence Day Speech, dwelt on one of the bedeviling challenges confronting the nation; that is the youth. He reiterated the point that youth development was crucial to national growth and progress and they should therefore be encouraged to take their rightful place. There is no gainsaying that the youth are the future leaders. That is why it was heartwarming to hear the President admonishing the youth to persevere in all their endeavours and not to quit or give up hope. In as much as we want to agree with Mr. President, we would like to know or see what concrete measures are being put in place to actualize this admonition. This is not the first time the youth are being given hope and assurance from the political leadership. We hear the government has youth in Agriculture policy, which is intended to employ many of the teeming unemployed youth. So far, information about this laudable programme appears to be scanty. It is a common knowledge that we have many graduates roaming in the cities looking for non-existent white collar jobs. Another category of the unemployed youth are those on the streets selling all kinds of products. We on the Accra Times believe that if the youth in agriculture policy is properly packaged, the youth could be attracted to take advantage of it to earn a decent living. Accessibility by interested persons ought not to be difficult at all if the government expects the programme to be successful. In addition to agriculture, another area the government should look at is the Information Communication Technology (ICT). There are also various skills that the youth could be taken through to become self-employed for them to contribute their quota to the nation building. What we on the Accra Times would like to see is the government�s action plan to mobilise the unemployed youth to benefit from its agricultural policy. We hope the President�s wish for the youth does not become the mundane verbal assurance but practical measures would be implemented to give meaning to it. Let the youth also seize the opportunity when all is set.