Open Letter to the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment & Youth Appointees.
The Youth Bridge Foundation (YBF) congratulates Honorable Goerge Opare Addo for his appointment as the first Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment. We further applaud the President, H.E John Dramani Mahama for the creation of the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment. This landmark decision demonstrates a renewed commitment to prioritizing youth issues in the national development agenda. This decision fulfils a longstanding recommendation from our 2016 policy brief, “Youth Development in Ghana: The Debate Over the Decoupling of The Ministry of Youth and Sports” where we advocated for a distinct focus on youth affairs, separate from sports administration.
The policy brief highlighted the significant challenges young Ghanaians face due to the lack of coordinated policies under various agencies, departments, interventions and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which was created to steer youth affairs. Between 2011 and 2015, an estimated 70% of the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ budget was allocated to sports, leaving youth development initiatives underfunded. With the decoupling of the ministry, we are optimistic that the development of Ghana’s youth, who constitute approximately 77% of the population, will receive the needed attention and resources.
The Foundation commends the President and the government for taking this bold step. The appointment of Honorable George Opare Addo as the first Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment and other young appointees is an indication of the government’s recognition of the importance of youth inclusion in national development.
YBF believes that this development provides an opportunity to address pressing challenges such as youth unemployment, skills development, education, and active participation in governance. A dedicated ministry opens the door for targeted programs and policies to empower young people and harness their immense potential for national growth.
We recognize that these appointments pose a responsibility to all youth appointees to learn from experienced colleagues who assumed government roles at a very young age and have contributed significantly to Ghana’s political landscape. Political actors such as H.E John Dramani Mahama, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (former Deputy Minister of Education), Hon. Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings (Member of Parliament), and Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye (Minister for Works and Housing) exemplify how young leaders can contribute meaningfully to governance.
appointees to adopt mentorship and a multi-stakeholder approach to drive the youth development agenda and sustainable development.
As an organization committed to empowering youth, YBF expresses its readiness to partner with the new ministry to drive the youth inclusion agenda forward. We leverage an active youth constituency together with expertise and capacities in action research, strategic partnerships, capacity building, networking, advocacy, and multi-stakeholder processes to deliver interventions that improve youth participation in civic engagement and accountable governance, climate resilience, and educational outcomes
Call to Action
In line with these concerns, we make the following calls;
- We call on the newly created Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment to prioritize youth-focused and inclusive policies
- We further call n the government to commit to adequate resource allocation to advance youth initiatives and interventions
- We encourage stakeholders, including civil society, private sector actors, and development partners, to collaborate with the ministry to drive innovation and sustainable solutions for youth empowerment.
Once again, the Youth Bridge Foundation congratulates the government on this historic step and pledges its unwavering support to ensure the ministry succeeds in its mandate.