Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the youth of Ghana not to lose hope because “change is on its way” come the 2016 elections.

Speaking at the 15th anniversary celebration of the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) held at the Mensah Sarbah Hall on Wednesday, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer called on the youth to repose their confidence in the party ahead of the 2016 elections, because of its solid track record in delivering on its promises, as seen from 2001 to 2009.

The NPP flagbearer recounted how at the 1st public event of TESCON in May of 2000, after the inauguration of TESCON, he made three commitments which, he noted, would be fulfilled when the NPP won the 2000 election.

“I said that if we won, we would repeal the infamous Criminal Libel Law; we would abolish the notorious cash and carry policy in our healthcare system; and we would in the next decade take Ghana from a poor to a middle income status. The NPP in power realised each one of these promises. We repealed the Criminal Libel Law. We abolished cash and carry and introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme. And by 2009, when we left office, Ghana was a middle income country,” he said.

“We keep our promises,” he said.

With the battle for votes in 2016 greater among the youth, many of whom will be first time voters, the NPP flagbearer explained that the NPP Youth Wing has a big responsibility to swing a decisive victory the party’s way.

This, he explained, can be realised through sending the party’s message of hope to every household, as the goal of an Akufo-Addo government will be “to build a free and prosperous society of opportunities where every Ghanaian child, no matter the circumstances of his or her birth, has an equal chance to strive to build a happy and dignified life.”

Policy initiatives for youth Key amongst several policy initiatives which will be implemented under his government to address the concerns of the youth, Akufo-Addo said, will be investing in the nation’s institutions of learning to acquire new technology to provide skills and education to the nation of young people who are being left out of the job market.

“No nation can afford to marginalise the youth, the very group that makes up the chunk of its labour force. This is something we expected leaders to know. We will be learning from Germany, which has a relatively low level of youth unemployment, to prioritise high-quality vocational courses, apprenticeships and links with industry,” he said.

He added, “Your next NPP government will be a government that promotes policies that add value, because that is the only way we can create a large pool of sustainable good jobs with good pay.”

“On the back of an expanding and diversified agriculture, we will set Ghana on a solid platform for industrialisation, which will see economic growth matched by job creation. You know we can do it,” he added.