Gov't seeks to employ 50,000 youth under improved GYEEDA

Government is seeking to employ about 50,000 youth under the newly improved Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency, (GYEEDA). 

This was announced at a meeting in Tamale to transition GYEEDA into the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).

The beneficiaries are also to be paid under the country's minimum wage agreement which now stands at 7.00 cedis, instead of the meagre allowances the beneficiaries received in the past.

The Employment Minister Haruna Iddrisu revealed, among other things, interventions on how to make the agency more attractive.

Key among those new interventions are legal backing for the Agency and the roping in of employees into Ghana's minimum wage programme, Joy News' Hashmin Mohammed reported.

GYEEDA in the last two years has been in the news for all the wrong reasons with reports about non-payment of allowances to beneficiaries, corruption and misappropriation of funds.

Two persons, the former National GYEEDA Coordinator Abuga Pele and Philip Assibit are currently being prosecuted for various acts of corruption.

Government has since streamlined the operations of GYEEDA and has even given it a new name.

As part of the many interventions, the Agency which was under the Youth and Sports Ministry has now been put under the Employment Ministry.

Haruna Iddrisu warned regional YEA managers attending the meeting that Government will not tolerate any form of breaches or irregularities in the operation of the Agency.

He dismissed assertions that the Agency is no more, stating that Government is rather providing a legal basis to supervise a smooth operation of the Agency.

He said they have presented to Parliament the Youth Employment Bill and are hoping that by end of February the President would have assented to the bill.