Aspiring NDC National Vice Chairman urges grassroots to maximise government’s youth empowerment initiatives
Dr. Edem Segbefia, an aspiring National Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has commended the youth development and empowerment initiatives being pursued by the administration of President John Dramani Mahama, describing them as a significant step towards restoring hope, building skills and creating sustainable economic opportunities for Ghana’s youth.
Speaking during an interactive engagement with NDC grassroots representatives in the Greater Accra Region, Dr. Segbefia said the government’s youth-focused programmes were changing the narrative from unemployment and frustration to skills development, entrepreneurship, productivity and leadership.
He urged NDC constituency, ward and branch executives to take advantage of the programmes and ensure that young people at the grassroots were not left behind.
From hopelessness to opportunity
According to Dr. Segbefia, before the return of the NDC to government in January 2025, many young Ghanaians faced serious challenges, including unemployment, inadequate access to skills training, limited access to capital and a lack of meaningful opportunities.
He said the situation had created anxiety among parents across Greater Accra, Ashanti and other regions, while the energy, creativity and talents of thousands of young people remained largely untapped.
He maintained that President Mahama had placed youth development at the centre of the government’s agenda, with a vision anchored on “jobs, skills and opportunity for every Ghanaian youth.”
He said the objective was not simply to provide temporary employment but to move young people from unemployment into productive work, entrepreneurship and leadership.
Jobs, apprenticeship and skills development
Dr. Segbefia highlighted a number of youth-focused interventions which, he said, were designed to expand access to employment and skills.
These include the training of 100,000 young people under apprenticeship and trade programmes, covering areas such as welding, automobile mechanics, tailoring, catering, information and communications technology and construction.
He said beneficiaries were expected to receive tools and start-up kits to enable them to establish their own businesses after training.
He also cited the GH¢500 million youth entrepreneurship fund, which provides access to financing, business development support, mentorship and low-interest loans.
According to him, more than 40,000 youth-owned businesses have benefited from various forms of support.
He further pointed to employment opportunities created in the health, education, security and civil service sectors, alongside paid internships intended to provide young graduates and other young people with practical workplace experience.
Digital economy and TVET
Dr. Segbefia said the government’s youth empowerment agenda also recognises the growing importance of the digital economy.
He said young people were being trained in coding, graphic design, digital marketing and freelancing, while digital hubs equipped with internet facilities and other resources were being established to enable young people to acquire marketable skills.
He noted that the expansion of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) was equally important, particularly for young people who wanted practical skills rather than traditional academic pathways.
He said the upgrading of TVET institutions, alongside support for tuition, feeding, equipment and practical training, could provide thousands of young people with skills that directly respond to labour-market demand.
Youth entrepreneurship and agribusiness
Dr. Segbefia also drew attention to youth entrepreneurship initiatives, including access to financing, business training, mentorship and markets.
He said youth entrepreneurs should be encouraged to formalise their businesses and take advantage of available incentives, including proposed tax relief measures for qualifying young entrepreneurs.
He further highlighted the importance of youth participation in agriculture through initiatives designed to provide young farmers with access to land, agricultural inputs, financing and technical support.
He identified areas such as Ga South, Ningo-Prampram and Shai-Osudoku as having significant potential for youth-led agribusiness ventures.
Sports, culture and leadership development
Beyond jobs and entrepreneurship, Dr. Segbefia said youth empowerment must also include sports, culture, civic participation and leadership development.
He said youth groups, sports teams and cultural organisations were being targeted for grants and other forms of support, while community sports facilities were being rehabilitated.
He welcomed the introduction of inter-constituency sporting activities, saying such initiatives could promote unity, discover talent and strengthen community engagement.
He also highlighted programmes designed to train young people in governance, advocacy, public speaking and civic participation.
“These are not just programmes for today,” he said. “They are investments in tomorrow’s leaders.”
How the NDC grassroots can benefit
Dr. Segbefia challenged constituency, ward and branch executives to move beyond merely talking about government programmes and actively help young people access them.
He urged constituency executives to mobilise young people to register for apprenticeship, TVET and digital-skills programmes.
He encouraged branch executives to assist prospective beneficiaries to prepare business plans, apply for youth financing and take advantage of available business-development opportunities.
He also urged grassroots leaders to help young people access paid internships, public-sector employment opportunities and digital training.
For young entrepreneurs, he said, access to markets was just as important as access to capital.
He therefore encouraged youth groups and entrepreneurs to participate in organised markets and initiatives that create opportunities for locally produced goods and services to reach consumers.
“Make sure the opportunities reach the grassroots”
Dr. Segbefia stressed that the success of the government’s youth agenda would ultimately depend on whether ordinary young people could access the opportunities being created.
He therefore called on NDC grassroots leaders to ensure that recruitment, training, financing and other opportunities were distributed transparently and fairly.
He warned against allowing government programmes intended for ordinary young people to be captured by politically connected individuals.
“The opportunities must go to real grassroots youth, not just ‘big men’s children’,” he emphasised.
He encouraged party members to report any suspected corruption, favouritism or manipulation in recruitment and loan-disbursement processes through the appropriate channels.
Greater Accra as a major beneficiary
Dr. Segbefia said Greater Accra, as Ghana’s economic and commercial hub, had enormous potential to benefit from youth-focused policies in areas including digital work, hospitality, construction, trade, entrepreneurship and agriculture.
He said young people should be encouraged to see digital employment as a viable career path, noting that a young person based in Accra could acquire digital skills and provide services to clients anywhere in the world.
He also urged MPs and constituency executives to work with relevant institutions to help youth groups access funding for sports, culture and community-development projects.
A message to the NDC grassroots
Dr. Segbefia said the NDC’s grassroots had a critical role to play in communicating the impact of the government’s youth policies to communities.
He argued that when a young person receives apprenticeship training and start-up tools, when a young entrepreneur obtains financing to establish a business, when a graduate secures an internship, or when a youth group receives support for a community project, the impact of government becomes tangible at the household level.
He said this was the kind of transformation that could restore confidence in government and strengthen the relationship between the NDC and the grassroots.
“The NDC must continue to give young people jobs, skills and capital,” he said.
“We must ensure that our youth see government as a partner in their development, not as an obstacle.”
Building the next generation
Dr. Segbefia further argued that youth empowerment should be viewed as a long-term investment in Ghana’s future.
He said today’s beneficiaries of skills training, entrepreneurship programmes, sports initiatives and leadership development could become tomorrow’s business owners, professionals, community leaders, assembly members, District Chief Executives and Members of Parliament.
He maintained that the youth development agenda therefore had implications far beyond employment statistics.
“When your son learns welding and receives the tools to establish his own business, when your daughter accesses financing to start her shop, when a graduate secures an internship, or when a youth group receives support for sports, that is government delivering directly to families,” he said.
A call to action
Dr. Segbefia concluded by urging NDC grassroots executives in Greater Accra to turn government programmes into practical opportunities for their communities.
He outlined four priorities for the grassroots:
Mobilise for skills: Register young people for apprenticeship, TVET and digital training.
Mobilise for capital: Help young entrepreneurs access available financing, prepare business plans and participate in youth markets.
Mobilise for jobs: Encourage qualified youth to apply for internships, apprenticeship placements and public-sector employment opportunities.
Mobilise for community development: Help youth groups access available support for sports, culture and community projects.
He said the message from the NDC to Ghanaian youth should be clear:
“NDC is giving our youth jobs.
NDC is giving our youth skills.
NDC is giving our youth capital.
NDC cares about the future of Ghana’s youth.”
Dr. Segbefia said the ultimate measure of the government’s youth agenda would be the number of young people who moved from unemployment to productive work, from dependence to entrepreneurship and from uncertainty to hope.
He therefore called on the NDC grassroots to protect the gains, expand access and ensure that the benefits of youth development reached ordinary families across Greater Accra and the country.
“Let us keep the smiles on the faces of our young people, keep them working, keep them learning and keep them building businesses. The future belongs to the youth, and the grassroots must be at the centre of that future.”
Story: Patrick Asford Boadu
