We need alternative jobs for the youth – AFOD

An Obuasi-based non-governmental organisation, Alliance for Obuasi Development (AFOD), has called on its new Municipal Chief Executive to make youth employment a priority.

In a statement issued on Tuesday July 23, 2013, to congratulate the new MCE, the NGO said Mr. Richard Ofori Agyeman Boadi must facilitate “alternative employment for the youth” other than small scale mining, which most of the youth in the area undertake illegally.

The statement signed by the group’s Executive Director Albert Nana Asante; Project Manager Richard Ellimah and Director of Communications and Advocacy Malik Bin Ibrahim, also noted that the new MCE must facilitate the acquisition of viable lands for small scale mining, as well as engender transparency in the selection of beneficiaries for scholarships so that students from deprived communities will have fair access to such opportunities.

AFOD also says the MCE must enforce the Assembly’s bye-law, which bars school-going children from roaming in town after 8pm.

It also reminded Mr. Ofori Agyeman Boadi to fulfill his promise to “establish a tertiary institution in the municipality” as well as “develop alternative routes to ease congestion in the city as outlined in his speech after his confirmation”.