Former deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Andy Osei Okrah, has challenged government to back its youth empowerment mantra with action.
According to him, it is time to move beyond the talk and equip the youth with leadership and entrepreneurial skills to enable them realize their potential to help in national development.
Mr. Okrah made the call at a Youth Leadership Summit organized by the Faculty of Management Studies of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) in collaboration with the Youth Professionals and Youth Coalition in Accra.
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The Summit was a one-day conference for young people aimed at offering participants the opportunity to learn, to share their leadership experiences with each other and to establish a network of support and cooperation within the university.
Addressing the students on the theme: ‘Become an effective Transformational leader’, Mr. Okrah said it wasn’t enough to have a Youth Policy when majority of the youth are still unemployment or lack the requisite skills to take up leadership roles.
He noted that, many of the youth are disillusioned because successive governments have relegated their interests to the background.
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What government must do, Mr. Okrah said, is to invest in quality leadership training to produce transformational leaders to secure Ghana’s future.
“Ghana is poor because we lack the kind of quality leaders required to advance the cause of the people”.
The President of Young Professional and Youth Coalition (YPYC) added that, the time had come to raise a new breed of generational thinkers capable of changing the fortunes of the people.
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Mr. Okrah advised the youth to stop misconstruing and equating leadership to political appointments.
The former Ashanti Regional Minister explained that, Ghana’s transformation must come at the hands of a determined and resourceful youth, who would grab the wheel and pulleys of transformation to secure a decent future for its people.
He stated that leadership is a collective responsibility which requires all to play their roles well to ensure that the nation achieved its development agenda to improve the quality of life of the people.
Mr. Okrah advised leaders to inspire their followers by setting good examples themselves to enhance the attitudes of followers.
