Christian Youth calls for separate youth ministry

Christian youth organisations in Kumasi on Saturday called for a separate ministry to address all issues concerning the youth. They contended that putting the youth and sports under one ministry had caused great harm to the youth since sports had dominated the activities of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The organisations, which embrace Scripture Unions of the various institutions in Kumasi, made the call at a press conference organised by the Scriptures Union Youth Evangelistic Fellowship.

Addressing the press conference, Mr Clement Achim-Gyimah, Project Director of Ashanti Conference of Evangelisation (ASHCOE), noted that several policies and about 80 per cent of the Ministry's time and focus were concentrated on sports.

Mr Achim-Gyimah said there was a consensus that the youth, who are the assets and investment of the nation, were gradually degenerating morally and attributed this to a number of factors. These, he said, included awareness created by some products that are very harmful to the youth and pornographic books and pictures circulating freely on the market.

The other factors are the Internet and use of immoral and profane words in music and advertisements on the electronic media as well as the importation of video films shown on national television and the changing rate of fashion depicting nudity.

Mr Achim-Gyimah called on the government to review the disciplinary code for schools and dismiss heads of institutions whose actions and deeds lead to the degradation of their schools.

The Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Achim-Gyimah said, should set up functional counselling centres in schools to provide counselling services and advice to confused youth while strengthening the existing counselling centres to function effectively. He also advised the youth to be mindful of their actions and set high goals for themselves for a better future.