Aim at self-employment - Aliu advises students

Accra, Feb. 24, GNA - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Tuesday urged students in tertiary institutions to plan towards setting up their own businesses after school.

He said the training they were receiving should empower them to be successful as entrepreneurs in line with the Government's vision of the Golden Age of Business.

Vice President Mahama said this when he hosted members of the Cape Coast Polytechnic branch of the Tertiary Education Students Confederacy (TESCON) at the Castle, Osu.

The students were at the Castle as part of their programme to interact with Government Officials and have Government policies explained to them.

The Vice President said the Government believed in a private sector led economy and was, therefore, implementing many assistance programmes to make the sector vibrant.

Prudent measures, he said, were also being implemented to improve the macro-economic environment for business to thrive.

"I acknowledge that starting a business would have its initial difficulties but with determination and the requisite capacity building you would succeed," he said.

"There are many examples of people without the level of education that you are getting but were able to initiate their businesses when they were very young and nurtured them into very successful companies." Vice President Mahama briefed the students about the provision of roads, health, educational and telecommunication infrastructure to improve the standard of living of Ghanaians across the country. He welcomed the visit as a laudable platform for bringing the Government closer to the people to promote good governance. He urged them to be abreast with events to be able to provide truthful information in their communities, particularly in rural areas, so that lies and misinformation about Government policies would not gain grounds.

Mr Emmanuel Ekow Jackson, Leader of the Group, commended the Government for its support to education, saying the programmes must be continued to improve its quality.

The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Felix Owusu-Agyepong, Minister of State at the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports, Alhaji Rashid Bawa and Mr Kwabena Agyepong, Press Secretary to President, took turns to answer questions from them.

The students had earlier visited Parliament to observe proceedings.