‘Be restrained during Christmas celebrations’ - CEO of NYA

Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority and Member of Parliament Elect for Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfro Constituency, Mr. Sylvester M. Tetteh, has advised the youth of Ghana to be moderate, well-behaved, and prudent during this year’s Christmas celebrations.

In a goodwill statement to extend his profound greetings to the youth in reveling the period, whilst thanking them for their comportment during the 2020 general elections, Mr. Sylvester Tetteh went on to advise the youth to focus on the real essence of the yuletide which essentially is to recount the birth of the Messiah and admonished them to refrain from all manner of excesses and unproductive behavior.

“As we celebrate Christmas, I wish to send my heartfelt greetings to all stakeholders of the NYA especially to the youth. I also want to use this occasion to express my appreciation to the entire staff of the Authority for their dedication and service to the Authority and to the country. It is their dedication and commitment that has enabled the NYA to continually deliver on its mandate as the lead government agency responsible for the development and empowerment of the youth.”

Mr. Tetteh went on to remind the youth of the continued presence of the novel Corona Virus pandemic and reiterated the need for the youth to adhere to all safety protocols at all times during the festivities.

He said processes for the review of the National Youth Policy have ended and that a cabinet memo for the draft policy has also been prepared and presented to the cabinet for consideration and approval and tasked the youth to actively participate in the process of the country’s governance particularly through the District, Regional and National Youth Parliaments.

He noted that the campaign for peace before, during, and after the elections, which the Authority launched as part of this year’s (2020) Africa Youth Day Celebrations, remains in earnest and called on the media to join hands with the Authority in the effort to advance the campaign.

“I hereby applaud you, the media, for your partnership with the Authority in the discharge of our mandate over the years and would like to appeal to all of you to continue to join hands with the NYA in this well-intentioned pursuit to sustain our country’s peace whilst equipping and positioning our youth to become responsible citizens armed to contribute their quota to the nation’s building and development exercise,” the CEO reiterated.

He reechoed the NYA’s preparedness and resolve to collaborate with all stakeholders to uphold and consolidate the core objects of the Authority which is to promote in the youth a sense of self-reliance, leadership, discipline, and civic responsibility and to ensure the total development and empowerment of the Ghanaian youth for their meaningful participation in the development of the country.

“I remain upbeat about the youth development project. My tenure as CEO of the NYA has offered me a rare opportunity to meet and interact with Ghanaian youth across the spectrum and I can say without equivocation that I am placed in a unique position to appreciate the uniqueness and dynamism of our youth and I shall continue to work hard, especially now as a Member of Parliament, to champion the concerns of the youth and ensure that their needs are well catered for,” Mr. Tetteh posited.

He finally expressed his appreciation to the government, all the Authority’s partners particularly STAR Ghana, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the UN system, Actionaid, Youth Bridge Foundation, and the media for their continued partnership and support of the Authority’s operations and programs.