The debate about whether the letter and spirit of Articles 25 and 38 of the constitution of Ghana are not being violated by given admission to candidates who can pay 'commercial fees' for their education has reached great heights. The universities offer admission to persons who may not have been qualified for specific programs but are given admission simply because they can pay for the cost of the education.
Many have observed that this is discriminatory especially with increasing belief that the quota for regular students is being reduced to admit more 'fee paying' students.
There are a number of factors to take into account:
1. In Shelley Ann Chapman's 'Trasformative-Deliberative Curriculum Theory' (2007) the idea of providing education (especially professional education) to someone simply because the person can pay was frowned upon, in fact rejected.
2. Admittedly both Articles 25 and 38 conditioned providing free education 'on the basis of capacity'. An expression that is subject to various forms of interpretation. The point has to be made however that, if the universities are complaining about over population leading to enormous stretch on facilities, then there is every need to contain the admission quota, to the extent that is being covered by the government subvention. The case of Independence Hall at KNUST where a part of the hall collapsed apparently due to stress can be mentioned.
3. The universities earn income from non-academic activities, which when looked at, could contribute more than the fees paid by less than 10% of the universities students population - the fee paying students.
4. It is not being suggested that the universities can not engage in commercial activities, such as sale of university placements - termed as fee paying - but it ought to be noted that such an activity should not place the greater majority of students of indigent backgrounds in possible disadvantage.
5. We ought to be guided by events in other jurisdictions. In the past year or so, there were some protests in the UK, for instance, about the increasing cost of higher education. A country where living conditions are much better compared to Ghana.
6. This ruling may give the universities an opportunity to charge higher fees for some other programmes. For instance I understand the University of Ghana, Legon has introduced a two year part-time LL.M/MA in Alternative Dispute Resolution this academic year. And they are charging Ghana cedis 5000 a year. A total of Ghana cedis 10,000 to complete the programme! Not taking into account books, transport, field trips, feeding and other associated costs.
The case simply should not have been sent to the Supreme Court. If the plaintiff had lot of faith in their case, which it appears they did, then they should have done a lot of research before sending the matter to the Supreme Court.
Read the news article below.
SMK
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Paying University Fees Is Constitutional - Court
The Supreme Court has dismissed an action filed by the Federation of Youth Associations of Ghana (FEDYAG) against the Public Universities and the Attorney-General, which sought a declaration that the full-fee paying policy of Ghanaian Public Universities is unconstitutional and that the offer of admission to full-fee paying students amounts to discrimination under the Constitution.
In a unanimous decision, the court declared that the full-fee paying policy is justified and achieves a constitutionally valid purpose because it is one of the means by which the universities have been able to offer education to others.
FEDYAG sued the Public Universities in the Supreme Court claiming that the Public Universities “sell” admissions based on economic status and not intellectual abilities, in breach of Articles 17, 25, and 38 of the Constitution, because tertiary education is to be made “progressively free”. The plaintiff asked the court to interpret these articles and declare the full-fee paying policy unconstitutional.
However, the Public Universities argued that admissions are generally based on how much government subvention they receive each year, and that it is after the quota determined by the subventions has been determined, that spaces are made available to foreign students, Ghanaian nationals resident abroad, and Ghanaian students who have qualified but did not benefit from the subvention.
They also argued that although the full-fee paying students constitute less than 10% of student intake, they contributed over 28% of the Universities’ income, and that this goes to support non-fee paying students and provide scholarships to brilliant students from deprived schools.
The court found that the plaintiff only made bare assertions which it failed to substantiate and that the full-fee paying option is not discriminatory because normal admissions are not affected. The court said that although Article 25 of the Constitution demands equal opportunities for educational advancement, it also recognises limitations that are based on students’ capacities and available educational facilities. The court said that the ultimate object of Article 25 is free education by gradual introduction, and that under Article 38, education objectives can only be implemented by “the availability of resources.”
The court said that in reality education comes with costs, and that the nation cannot provide free tertiary education in the shortest time possible. The court cited statistics supplied by the Public Universities which defeated the plaintiff’s claim that spaces for non-fee paying students have been reduced in favour of full-fee paying students.
According to the court fee paying is one of the means by which the Public Universities are able to offer education to others and that this was justified and did not contravene the Constitution. The fee paying policy, according to the court, is not discriminatory as it does not affect the quota that is based on government subvention, and actually creates more opportunities.
The plaintiff was represented by Dennis Ofosuapea, the Public Universities by Ace Ankomah and Kwesi Fynn, and the Attorney-General by Cecil Adadevoh and Helena French.
Source: citifmonline.com via peacefmonline.com (http://news.peacefmonline.com/social/201107/59294.php )
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Thursday, 15 April 2010
THE DAGBON REGICIDE AND MATTERS ARISING
THE DAGBON REGICIDE AND MATTERS ARISING
In March 2002 there were some uneasiness in the Dagbon Traditional area lasting some three days between March 25th and 27th. This uneasiness resulted in the death of the overlord of the Dagbon Traditional area Ya Na Yakubu Andani and some forty (40) other persons.
The incident has since heightened tension in Dagbon leading to the resignation of key government functionaries including the then Minister for the Interior who is also a Member of Parliament for Yendi, the area where the incident occurred which is also the place where the palace (Gbewa Palace) of Dagbon is situated and the then regional Minister for Northern Region Prince Imoro Andani. It is instructive to note that whilst the former is believed to be associated with one of the gates to the Dagbon differences, the latter is believed to be associated with the other gate. Others who resigned include Major Suleman and General Joshua Hamidu. I have brought this to light at his stage of our conversation so as to as much as possible help us draw the line to the colourisation of the dispute in political lights. This is important when we wish to reflect that the two Ministers are members of the same political tradition a la Prof. Wayo Seini known to be a royal of one of the gates and a politician who has had a taste of any of the two leading contemporary governance groupings in Ghana – NDC, NPP.
This having been said, the Dagbon differences is known to be an age-old issue of succession. There may be other attendant issues but that of succession has always been the highlight. Please refer to the Wuaku Commission Report.pdf. The Government of Ghana at the time considered the three-day incident as events that occurred within a state of war. Please refer to Gov't White Paper on Wuaku Commission.
Persuant to the recommendation of the Wuaku Commission that the Government of Ghana should take up steps to integrate the two gates to the Dagbon skin, the Government set-up a three (3) member Committee of Eminent Chiefs (CEC) comprising the Asantehene as chair and the Na Yiri (Paramount Chief of the Mamprusi Traditional Area) and Yagbonwura as members respectively, to facilitate a resolution of the dispute. The Yagbonwura, Paramount Chief of the Gonja Traditional Area has since passed away earlier this year (see Yagbonwura Bawa Doshie). It is not clear how the committee has since been conducting its business.
Again, it is worth mentioning that there has been some disquiet among some dagombas with the choice of mediators. The view is that differences between and among Dagombas has traditionally been settled by the Na Yiri, the Paramount Chief of the Mamprusi Traditional Area. Nontheless there has been general co-operation with the panel of mediators by the two gates, namely the Abudus and the Andanis, since the commencement of the mediation process in 2002.
As part of the process the Gbewa palace has been renovated, a Regent has been installed pending funeral(s) of the deceased among other monumental strides.
Understandably there has always been claims of involvement of politics or politicians in the regicide and its aftermath. And a section of the political population often use association with their party or lack of it as a trump card to justify or rationalize one deed or another.
In recent times there has been numerous anxieties in different parts of the country in relation to chieftaincy. In fact the Andani gate of the Dagbon royal family held a press conference to request of the current Government of Ghana to own up to its campaign in the last election of finding those who committed the regicide of the late Dagbon king and making them face justice. See Andani Press Conference on Prez Mills' pledge
Putting in motion the criminal justice system in itself is not out of place. Especially being aware that criminality has no expiry date. Also being aware that some persons were arrested, charged and arraigned before court is important except to say that they were discharged and acquitted for lack of evidence. The arrests followed shortly after the recommendation of the Wuaku Commission Report.pdf which was formed by Constitutional Instrument (C.I. 36)in April 2002 to investigate the disturbances in Dagbon.
So, having come this far, it is understandable when some stakeholders demand of government to fulfill its campaign promise of finding those who by law might have erred and making them face the law. It is also known that by law a criminal proceeding can be commenced at the same time a civil proceeding is commenced for an offence that has both a criminal aspect and a civil aspect.
But there has already been worrying signal with the recent arrests. Some of the arrested persons are being represented by a key member of the current Minority in Parliament The Party Politics of Dagbon Crisis and government apologists are already rationalizing and using not so pleasant language in condemning critics who suggest government is responding to the pressures of the Andani Press Conference on Prez Mills' pledge to find the killers.
While recognizing that the NPP lawyer representing the accussed persons may be doing his rightful job, it is also important to state it may actually fuel suspicion that the Abudus are indeed NPP and a lot of political capital ( or liability) could be made out of it. So it is no wonder that some civil society suggested that Ghana should Create a Platform to Engage Dagbon Politicians. This arrest if not well managed may be set-off on a bad start. The government apologists may want to reword their responses and the MP/Lwayer may want to reconsider his involvement.
In future it is important to give maening to the Constitutional Provision on National House of Chiefs, give the National House of Chiefs the necessary capacity to ajudicate on matters relating to chieftaincy from within its structures. Indeed the Chieftaincy Act of 1971 (Act 370) and its replacement, the Chieftaincy Act of 2008 (Act 759) are expected to be documents that help reduce governments participation in resolving chieftaincy matters. All governments have complexions that have always affected the pace, perception and procedure for resolving chieftaincy disputes. And as may be noted there are Debates about the place of Chieftaincy in contemporary times
Be it as it may what however is expected is the full integration of Dagbon with each being the brother's keeper as ever before. This may take a while and Ghanaians will be much pleased if nothing is done to unduly affect this transition. It is our expectation therefore that the recent arrest of some forty-one (41) persons in Yendi in relation to the 2002 incident does not unduly affect the true management and resolution of the differences in Dagbon.
Saeed Musah-Khaleepha
+233(0)208121764
Khaleepha Consult
Box AS 194, Asawasi, Kumasi
Box NB 889, NiiBoi Man, Accra
--
Posted By samuleepha to Platform for Social Conversations at 4/13/2010 08:37:00 AM
Thursday, 1 April 2010
ANC shocked by Malema death threats
The article below point to some challenges in South Africa. It principally is about some reports about what the leader of the youth wing of the ruling political party has said; a quotation of parts of an anti-apartheid song. That (the comment) appeared to be in bad taste and already there is some anxiety in the atmosphere with some court issues raging.
The last time I checked there were about thirty (30) or so facebook pages/groups promoting anti-the ANC Youth Leader agenda.
The reports indicate the ANC Youth Leader has denied any wrongdoing. And the party has indicated its preparedness to protect the youth leader from some death threats he's received.
I hope we will learn from the lessons thereof.
Saeed/SMK
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The last time I checked there were about thirty (30) or so facebook pages/groups promoting anti-the ANC Youth Leader agenda.
The reports indicate the ANC Youth Leader has denied any wrongdoing. And the party has indicated its preparedness to protect the youth leader from some death threats he's received.
I hope we will learn from the lessons thereof.
Saeed/SMK
..........
ANC shocked by Malema death threats
The ANC expresses its shock at an SMS promising a R2 million reward to anyone who kills its youth league president Julius Malema.
Read moreThursday, 18 March 2010
Journey for Change: Day seven in Ghana
A group of young teenagers share their experience on Anderson Cooper 360 blogsite
If you happen to be familiar with the place(s) they visited and the account they give I'm sure you will better appreciate their accounts of it.
All the same I find it worth sharing with you.
For those who might have challenges accessing the site, I have reproduced the accounts here.
SMK
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Editor's Note: Students from Brooklyn, N.Y. are traveling to Ghana as Global Service Ambassadors as part of a trans-Atlantic youth service and advocacy summit, bringing together African-American youth and Ghanaian child labor trafficking survivors. The project is called Journey for Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service and is in partnership with the Touch A Life Foundation. The Ambassadors will advocate for the eradication of child slavery when they return and they will visit Capitol Hill and the United Nations as part of their efforts. Read their blogs from the trip below.
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Jasmine Figueroa, Age 15
Journey for Change
Before I went on the trip to Ghana, I visualized and thought of what the food was going to taste like and how Ghanaian people live. Now that I have experienced the culture, I think that the Ghanaian people have a lot of pride in their homes. They take good care of them no matter how poor they might be. When I first met my Ghanaian partner, who is a former child slave, I thought she was very beautiful with a big smile on her face. She is 13 years old and I knew we were going to have a loving and beautiful relationship toward each other. I began to talk to her and she was very polite and outgoing. She told me about when she was a slave and told me all of the things that she had to do when she worked. She had to get the nets for the fishing boots, cook for the fisherman and his family, and clean the fish. She slept outside on rocks or on the hard ground or with the animals. And she was treated like an animal too. I shared a little about my life too. I told her that in my life I have problems at home and in my life and she was shocked. She thought everyone and everything in America was perfect. But when I heard about her life as a slave, it was sometimes too hard to bear and to hear. There were a lot of tears, but also a lot of laughs.
My experience in Ghana was sad, happy, and emotional. I liked the entire trip, but the part that meant the most to me was being on the Lake Volta meeting the trafficked kids either on the islands or rowing to the sides of their boats. It just tore me apart when I first started to experience the reality of child slavery. The kids were as young as 2 years old that were sold into slavery and forced to work the waters of Lake Volta. And the slave’s masters, who were fisherman, did not care about them at all. Some of the children only ate once a day and did not have proper places to sleep. They were tied to trees and beat if they did anything wrong.
The other part of the trip that touched me was going to Elmina Slave Castle. This is a place that our ancestors were held hostage and ripped away from their homeland. 60 million people were brought to Elmina. 20 million dies while being held there, 20 million died on the way to the Americas, and 20 million were sold into slavery. I felt insecure going through the castle. It scared me to think of what they had to go through. It was such a painful, disturbing situation. It brings tears to my eyes just to think about it.
If there was one thing that I would change in this world it would be to end trafficking of children worldwide. So, I will speak out to my community and the world to try to make it a better place for the children sold into slavery and all children.
It is our second to last day in Ghana and this blog is about my experiences in Ghana.
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Benjamin Goode, Age 13
Journey for Change
This trip has been very cultural and emotional. My emotions were very complex and mixed with joy, sadness. Journey for Change mission trip to Ghana would give us an opportunity to talk about child slavery and work with Touch A Life Foundation Staff who are involved in rescuing slave children who work for their masters in the fishing industry here Kete-Krachi on Lake Volta. Our first couple of days in Ghana was fun; we had a chance to meet our partners from Touch A Life Foundation for the first time. We saw and met other children in Tema house who were rescued just like our partners; we renamed this village “Village of Love”. We also played basketball with the children in the village of Hope. Then on Sunday, we went to church at The Salvation Army in Accra; we praised and worshiped God the Ghanaian’s way; it was uplifted. I was blessed. The same day we went to T.K. Beads factory where we learned how to make beads. That was very interesting to see the different stage that go into making beads; everything was made by hand; even the glass had to be crushed in a wood container.
Finally, we went to Elmina Castle where we learned and see how our ancestors had to go through so much from the time they were captured or sold as slave to the point they would be ready to be shipped to the Americas and other parts of the world. We saw where the slaves where beaten, raped, unfed and the door of no return where they would say goodbye before they board the boat to be shipped.
The next day after going to Elmina Castle we went on an 8 hour bus ride and a ferry ride to Kete-Krachi. Once there the sadness began to settle in as the bus pulled in Village of Life and into the house where we would stay for the next 4 days. This village has 200 kids who were all rescued from slavery. Also, this is where we really get to spend time with and know our Touch A Life rescued child slave partners. It was as if they were our brothers and sisters and no matter what happened, if we argued or yelled at each other we still will have love for each other. My partner was Ezra and we became friend very fast and bonded well. When we first met he was quiet; and before you know it he opened up; he is fun to talk to because he always makes you laugh and smile. In Kete-Krachi other JFC participants such as Sydney, Jasmine, Latoya, Joshua and I, and the Journey for Change and Touch A Life staff were going back and forth on Lake Volta to different islands where there are lots of children who are slave. Our Touch A Life partners who used to be slave themselves lived on these islands before they were trafficked as child slave. On one such a trip to an island we saw a small fishing boat with four people on board: one adult man with two teenagers and a 6 year old child working; our boat came very close to that boat and Touch A Life staff started to beg the man to free the younger child and handed him over to us. He refused, but agreed for meet us late on before releasing the child. I was very glad that day we left the island with 2 children. This made everyone feel great knowing that Journey for Change and Touch A Life came to Ghana to free children who are in slavery. It feels good to know that we’ve achieved our goals.
After visiting several of the islands it was time to leave Kete-Krachi and go back to Accra. We had a nice farewell dinner with the kids and a nice soothing African dance. Then the next morning we left.
Once we arrived in Accra, we only had a couple of hours before we would get ready for our farewell dinner at a beautiful resort hotel by the beach. We had a very emotional meeting before dinner; almost of us shed tears; it was so emotional; I can’t even explain it. Each one of the Journey for Change participants read a poem we wrote as part of our writing assignments during this trip. By 10:00pm we were back at the hotel getting ready to leave Ghana on such a rewarding trip to empower and rescue slave children and return to New York tomorrow.
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Joshua Hall, 16 years old
Journey for Change
It’s almost time to go home, as today is the last day at the village of life. With our bags packed we headed on the bus ready to go to Accra. After the multi-hour drive we finally got to our hotel in Accra. After a short rest we were back on the road headed to a restaurant where we celebrated our journey so far. Before we ate, there were a few presentations that were done. Of those, I read a few poems. But then my partner, Donald, had a presentation along with the other five children. During this, they gave my peers and I gifts and letters thanking us for being there and caring for them. They told us how much they would miss us when we leave, and the feeling is mutual.
This experience has been a great one for me. I now truly understand the seriousness of trafficking children into child slavery. I am even more willing to help end it. I really wanted to get a lot out of this trip and I’m glad I did. Knowing that my ancestry can be traced back to Ghana, this amazing trip has definitely broadened my horizon. It has also given me a better understanding of the world’s cultures, ideas, geographic features, etc.
Before we went on this journey one of the things I looked forward to was meeting our partners. It was great to meet all of the kids especially my partner Donald. I will never forget the days in Kete Krachi at The Village of Life. At night before we slept all the boys would just sit up and talk about anything. We would sometimes talk about favorite sports, food, music, cultures and so much more. I will miss all five Touch a Life kids though.
Of the many magnificent things we have done over the course of this trip, I would say that the best two days of them all would when we went to Tema House and when we rescued Christian and Jacob from their masters on the lake. Going to the Tema House was great. As soon as the doors opened they charged us with smiles on their faces. It was great to be able to put those smiles on their faces. On this trip one of my goals was to rescue at least one child slave. To know that we saved more than just one made me very happy and proud of myself and my peers. All in all, this was a magnificent experience and I would love to do it again if I had the chance.
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Latoya Massie, 16 years old
Journey for Change
We arrived here on Saturday, March 6. After we rested , we went to The Village of Hope, took a tour and met many children. I played basketball and later that night had three plates of food at dinner! It was great! We had a lot of fun activities and when our Ghanaian partners found out they were staying at the hotel with us, they were excited because they had never been to a hotel before.
On Sunday we got prepared to go to church. The service was energetic and powerful. We went to eat after the service and the food was okay. I have to say that I preferred the meal we had at Village of Hope, but I appreciate the people that cooked for us everywhere.
We then went to T.K. Beads which is a company that has a 6 month to 3 year training program in the making of glass beads. We bought some of the jewelry and some of the beads that we can use to make our own jewelry. I really liked the purple, multi-colored, and sky blue beads. Some of them were shaped like hearts and there were also gold pieces that I really liked.
We followed that up with a visit to Tema House and the children who live there ran to us and clang to us like magnets. We rode bikes with them and played with them until dinner was ready. They performed a dance for us and sang a song. We ate dinner and I enjoyed every moment of that day. Before we left we gave the children of crayons, cars, paint sets and books.
On Monday we went to Kankum National Park and went on a hike to the canopy walk. It was fun, but I didn’t find it challenging. I would love to jump out of a plane! After that we went to lunch at a beach resort where I had typical American fast food-a cheeseburger and fast food! I walked on the beach and drew shapes in the sand. I also collected some little shells.
We also went to El Mina Castle which was originally a storage place for goods such as gold. Later it became a slave trading place. We saw the “door of no return” and it was such a scary walk and at time it made me angry and I felt a lot of pain. To actually experience what went on with our ancestors, how they were treated and how they lived made me write a poem that really expresses my feelings. It was an eventful day that took my emotions a lot of places.
Tuesday we arrived at the U.S. Embassy and met the Ambassador. We learned about their different programs, positions and what they are doing for Ghana. They are expanding roads and building new ones. They will also be operating a new ferry in the next two years!
We then left on the long trek to Kete Krachi. We took a ferry to cross the river and continued on a dirt road. Along the way we saw frogs, owls and goats. There was one owl that landed right in front of the bus and would not move at all! It finally got on when we revved up the car.
We spent the next three days in Kete Krachi. Although we had basically the same schedule every day, each day held different emotions for me. On Wednesday we went out on the lake and Jasmine and Benjamin poured out their emotions in an amazing way to a community of elders on a village island. They were really impressive and we were able to rescue two boys that day. They were named Christian and Jacob and looked to be around 10 years old.
Generally we would come back from the lake, have snacks, rest a bit and then go play with the children living there at the Village of Hope. We would then have dinner, work on our writing and just relax. We would get up early and start all over again the next day.
We learned so much about advocating for the freedom of the kids on the lake and what it takes to negotiate with the masters and the people in the communities. It was such an eye opening experience. The first day was so hard to take in and to have a great outcome made us know that we were capable of doing what we did. So the next day was a bit less emotional and the last day we were all more comfortable taking a stand for the children.
Saturday we came back to Accra. It was a long and rough drive, but at least it was in the daytime and we could see all of the things going on in different villages along the way. When we got back we got ready for dinner near Independence Square on the beach. I was the most emotional of all because it really hit me and my partner, Sally, that we were going to be leaving each other. It was hard, but there was a lot of gift giving, thank you’s and goodbyes. I know we will stay in contact.
Today is a new day and we are still here in Ghana because our flight was canceled because of bad weather in New York. So today is a day to have peace of mind and to share what we have been experiencing. I’m looking forward to getting back home though and show my peers and the world what is going on here. I hope to open their eyes and ears and get the kids on the lake the respect they deserve and the freedom that is their birthright. This issue has become really close to my heart.
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Sydney Smart, Age 13
Journey for Change
Visiting Ghana has been one of the best experiences that I have ever had. I would not have changed a moment no matter how many hours we stayed on a bus. I would not even change the food that I did not like or getting up very early in the morning. I loved listening to the music in Ghana especially the drumming and watching the African dance. Our partners and the people from Touch A Life Foundation, arranged for traditional dancing on a daily basis and I loved it.
It was also great to spend time with the children my age. They were former child slaves and it was the most beautiful thing ever. Unlike South Africa, we got to know everything about the children we were partnered with and developed good and close relationships with everyone. My partner was Gideon and he was 13 years old. It was so nice to get to know about his life as a former slave and about how his life is now that he is rescued and in school. After a few days, he really started to open up to me. He did talk about his life on Lake Volta, he felt solemn talking about it. But through the days he opened up more and more like a flower. On the bus, we both learned that we had a lot in common like our personalities as we are outgoing, shy, playful, and get bored quickly. Between all of the children, day by day, we would feel more and more connected from our experiences.
Even though this trip was based on child slavery, we also got to reconnect with our ancestors. Luckily for my fellow Ambassador Joshua, his ancestors are from Ghana but I am from Sierra Leone. That did not stop me from visualizing how my ancestors were treated and also making a connection that this is where my people stepped away from where they were raised and from their home. People from many countries like my ancestral country of Sierra Leone, as well as Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and more, came through Elmina Slave Castle. To be vanished and brought to a strange place, to be treated like you were a mutt dog and also to work endless hours only to be beaten and starved. Anytime I think of that, my heart skips a beat. But luckily for Gideon, not only was he rescued and saved, because he is from Ghana, he knows his ancestry. But he did lose information about his village and past due to being sold. And that is a big similarity between the two of us. We have lost information due to slavery.
Ghana was a great trip. It was multidimensional and the whole experience meant a lot to me. I now have an opportunity and an obligation to speak out and make sure that all children go to school and play and not live their lives as a slave.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/17/journey-for-change-day-seven-in-ghana/.
If you happen to be familiar with the place(s) they visited and the account they give I'm sure you will better appreciate their accounts of it.
All the same I find it worth sharing with you.
For those who might have challenges accessing the site, I have reproduced the accounts here.
SMK
.......................
.......................
Editor's Note: Students from Brooklyn, N.Y. are traveling to Ghana as Global Service Ambassadors as part of a trans-Atlantic youth service and advocacy summit, bringing together African-American youth and Ghanaian child labor trafficking survivors. The project is called Journey for Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service and is in partnership with the Touch A Life Foundation. The Ambassadors will advocate for the eradication of child slavery when they return and they will visit Capitol Hill and the United Nations as part of their efforts. Read their blogs from the trip below.
.............................
.............................
Jasmine Figueroa, Age 15
Journey for Change
Before I went on the trip to Ghana, I visualized and thought of what the food was going to taste like and how Ghanaian people live. Now that I have experienced the culture, I think that the Ghanaian people have a lot of pride in their homes. They take good care of them no matter how poor they might be. When I first met my Ghanaian partner, who is a former child slave, I thought she was very beautiful with a big smile on her face. She is 13 years old and I knew we were going to have a loving and beautiful relationship toward each other. I began to talk to her and she was very polite and outgoing. She told me about when she was a slave and told me all of the things that she had to do when she worked. She had to get the nets for the fishing boots, cook for the fisherman and his family, and clean the fish. She slept outside on rocks or on the hard ground or with the animals. And she was treated like an animal too. I shared a little about my life too. I told her that in my life I have problems at home and in my life and she was shocked. She thought everyone and everything in America was perfect. But when I heard about her life as a slave, it was sometimes too hard to bear and to hear. There were a lot of tears, but also a lot of laughs.
My experience in Ghana was sad, happy, and emotional. I liked the entire trip, but the part that meant the most to me was being on the Lake Volta meeting the trafficked kids either on the islands or rowing to the sides of their boats. It just tore me apart when I first started to experience the reality of child slavery. The kids were as young as 2 years old that were sold into slavery and forced to work the waters of Lake Volta. And the slave’s masters, who were fisherman, did not care about them at all. Some of the children only ate once a day and did not have proper places to sleep. They were tied to trees and beat if they did anything wrong.
The other part of the trip that touched me was going to Elmina Slave Castle. This is a place that our ancestors were held hostage and ripped away from their homeland. 60 million people were brought to Elmina. 20 million dies while being held there, 20 million died on the way to the Americas, and 20 million were sold into slavery. I felt insecure going through the castle. It scared me to think of what they had to go through. It was such a painful, disturbing situation. It brings tears to my eyes just to think about it.
If there was one thing that I would change in this world it would be to end trafficking of children worldwide. So, I will speak out to my community and the world to try to make it a better place for the children sold into slavery and all children.
It is our second to last day in Ghana and this blog is about my experiences in Ghana.
.........................
.........................
Benjamin Goode, Age 13
Journey for Change
This trip has been very cultural and emotional. My emotions were very complex and mixed with joy, sadness. Journey for Change mission trip to Ghana would give us an opportunity to talk about child slavery and work with Touch A Life Foundation Staff who are involved in rescuing slave children who work for their masters in the fishing industry here Kete-Krachi on Lake Volta. Our first couple of days in Ghana was fun; we had a chance to meet our partners from Touch A Life Foundation for the first time. We saw and met other children in Tema house who were rescued just like our partners; we renamed this village “Village of Love”. We also played basketball with the children in the village of Hope. Then on Sunday, we went to church at The Salvation Army in Accra; we praised and worshiped God the Ghanaian’s way; it was uplifted. I was blessed. The same day we went to T.K. Beads factory where we learned how to make beads. That was very interesting to see the different stage that go into making beads; everything was made by hand; even the glass had to be crushed in a wood container.
Finally, we went to Elmina Castle where we learned and see how our ancestors had to go through so much from the time they were captured or sold as slave to the point they would be ready to be shipped to the Americas and other parts of the world. We saw where the slaves where beaten, raped, unfed and the door of no return where they would say goodbye before they board the boat to be shipped.
The next day after going to Elmina Castle we went on an 8 hour bus ride and a ferry ride to Kete-Krachi. Once there the sadness began to settle in as the bus pulled in Village of Life and into the house where we would stay for the next 4 days. This village has 200 kids who were all rescued from slavery. Also, this is where we really get to spend time with and know our Touch A Life rescued child slave partners. It was as if they were our brothers and sisters and no matter what happened, if we argued or yelled at each other we still will have love for each other. My partner was Ezra and we became friend very fast and bonded well. When we first met he was quiet; and before you know it he opened up; he is fun to talk to because he always makes you laugh and smile. In Kete-Krachi other JFC participants such as Sydney, Jasmine, Latoya, Joshua and I, and the Journey for Change and Touch A Life staff were going back and forth on Lake Volta to different islands where there are lots of children who are slave. Our Touch A Life partners who used to be slave themselves lived on these islands before they were trafficked as child slave. On one such a trip to an island we saw a small fishing boat with four people on board: one adult man with two teenagers and a 6 year old child working; our boat came very close to that boat and Touch A Life staff started to beg the man to free the younger child and handed him over to us. He refused, but agreed for meet us late on before releasing the child. I was very glad that day we left the island with 2 children. This made everyone feel great knowing that Journey for Change and Touch A Life came to Ghana to free children who are in slavery. It feels good to know that we’ve achieved our goals.
After visiting several of the islands it was time to leave Kete-Krachi and go back to Accra. We had a nice farewell dinner with the kids and a nice soothing African dance. Then the next morning we left.
Once we arrived in Accra, we only had a couple of hours before we would get ready for our farewell dinner at a beautiful resort hotel by the beach. We had a very emotional meeting before dinner; almost of us shed tears; it was so emotional; I can’t even explain it. Each one of the Journey for Change participants read a poem we wrote as part of our writing assignments during this trip. By 10:00pm we were back at the hotel getting ready to leave Ghana on such a rewarding trip to empower and rescue slave children and return to New York tomorrow.
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Joshua Hall, 16 years old
Journey for Change
It’s almost time to go home, as today is the last day at the village of life. With our bags packed we headed on the bus ready to go to Accra. After the multi-hour drive we finally got to our hotel in Accra. After a short rest we were back on the road headed to a restaurant where we celebrated our journey so far. Before we ate, there were a few presentations that were done. Of those, I read a few poems. But then my partner, Donald, had a presentation along with the other five children. During this, they gave my peers and I gifts and letters thanking us for being there and caring for them. They told us how much they would miss us when we leave, and the feeling is mutual.
This experience has been a great one for me. I now truly understand the seriousness of trafficking children into child slavery. I am even more willing to help end it. I really wanted to get a lot out of this trip and I’m glad I did. Knowing that my ancestry can be traced back to Ghana, this amazing trip has definitely broadened my horizon. It has also given me a better understanding of the world’s cultures, ideas, geographic features, etc.
Before we went on this journey one of the things I looked forward to was meeting our partners. It was great to meet all of the kids especially my partner Donald. I will never forget the days in Kete Krachi at The Village of Life. At night before we slept all the boys would just sit up and talk about anything. We would sometimes talk about favorite sports, food, music, cultures and so much more. I will miss all five Touch a Life kids though.
Of the many magnificent things we have done over the course of this trip, I would say that the best two days of them all would when we went to Tema House and when we rescued Christian and Jacob from their masters on the lake. Going to the Tema House was great. As soon as the doors opened they charged us with smiles on their faces. It was great to be able to put those smiles on their faces. On this trip one of my goals was to rescue at least one child slave. To know that we saved more than just one made me very happy and proud of myself and my peers. All in all, this was a magnificent experience and I would love to do it again if I had the chance.
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Latoya Massie, 16 years old
Journey for Change
We arrived here on Saturday, March 6. After we rested , we went to The Village of Hope, took a tour and met many children. I played basketball and later that night had three plates of food at dinner! It was great! We had a lot of fun activities and when our Ghanaian partners found out they were staying at the hotel with us, they were excited because they had never been to a hotel before.
On Sunday we got prepared to go to church. The service was energetic and powerful. We went to eat after the service and the food was okay. I have to say that I preferred the meal we had at Village of Hope, but I appreciate the people that cooked for us everywhere.
We then went to T.K. Beads which is a company that has a 6 month to 3 year training program in the making of glass beads. We bought some of the jewelry and some of the beads that we can use to make our own jewelry. I really liked the purple, multi-colored, and sky blue beads. Some of them were shaped like hearts and there were also gold pieces that I really liked.
We followed that up with a visit to Tema House and the children who live there ran to us and clang to us like magnets. We rode bikes with them and played with them until dinner was ready. They performed a dance for us and sang a song. We ate dinner and I enjoyed every moment of that day. Before we left we gave the children of crayons, cars, paint sets and books.
On Monday we went to Kankum National Park and went on a hike to the canopy walk. It was fun, but I didn’t find it challenging. I would love to jump out of a plane! After that we went to lunch at a beach resort where I had typical American fast food-a cheeseburger and fast food! I walked on the beach and drew shapes in the sand. I also collected some little shells.
We also went to El Mina Castle which was originally a storage place for goods such as gold. Later it became a slave trading place. We saw the “door of no return” and it was such a scary walk and at time it made me angry and I felt a lot of pain. To actually experience what went on with our ancestors, how they were treated and how they lived made me write a poem that really expresses my feelings. It was an eventful day that took my emotions a lot of places.
Tuesday we arrived at the U.S. Embassy and met the Ambassador. We learned about their different programs, positions and what they are doing for Ghana. They are expanding roads and building new ones. They will also be operating a new ferry in the next two years!
We then left on the long trek to Kete Krachi. We took a ferry to cross the river and continued on a dirt road. Along the way we saw frogs, owls and goats. There was one owl that landed right in front of the bus and would not move at all! It finally got on when we revved up the car.
We spent the next three days in Kete Krachi. Although we had basically the same schedule every day, each day held different emotions for me. On Wednesday we went out on the lake and Jasmine and Benjamin poured out their emotions in an amazing way to a community of elders on a village island. They were really impressive and we were able to rescue two boys that day. They were named Christian and Jacob and looked to be around 10 years old.
Generally we would come back from the lake, have snacks, rest a bit and then go play with the children living there at the Village of Hope. We would then have dinner, work on our writing and just relax. We would get up early and start all over again the next day.
We learned so much about advocating for the freedom of the kids on the lake and what it takes to negotiate with the masters and the people in the communities. It was such an eye opening experience. The first day was so hard to take in and to have a great outcome made us know that we were capable of doing what we did. So the next day was a bit less emotional and the last day we were all more comfortable taking a stand for the children.
Saturday we came back to Accra. It was a long and rough drive, but at least it was in the daytime and we could see all of the things going on in different villages along the way. When we got back we got ready for dinner near Independence Square on the beach. I was the most emotional of all because it really hit me and my partner, Sally, that we were going to be leaving each other. It was hard, but there was a lot of gift giving, thank you’s and goodbyes. I know we will stay in contact.
Today is a new day and we are still here in Ghana because our flight was canceled because of bad weather in New York. So today is a day to have peace of mind and to share what we have been experiencing. I’m looking forward to getting back home though and show my peers and the world what is going on here. I hope to open their eyes and ears and get the kids on the lake the respect they deserve and the freedom that is their birthright. This issue has become really close to my heart.
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Sydney Smart, Age 13
Journey for Change
Visiting Ghana has been one of the best experiences that I have ever had. I would not have changed a moment no matter how many hours we stayed on a bus. I would not even change the food that I did not like or getting up very early in the morning. I loved listening to the music in Ghana especially the drumming and watching the African dance. Our partners and the people from Touch A Life Foundation, arranged for traditional dancing on a daily basis and I loved it.
It was also great to spend time with the children my age. They were former child slaves and it was the most beautiful thing ever. Unlike South Africa, we got to know everything about the children we were partnered with and developed good and close relationships with everyone. My partner was Gideon and he was 13 years old. It was so nice to get to know about his life as a former slave and about how his life is now that he is rescued and in school. After a few days, he really started to open up to me. He did talk about his life on Lake Volta, he felt solemn talking about it. But through the days he opened up more and more like a flower. On the bus, we both learned that we had a lot in common like our personalities as we are outgoing, shy, playful, and get bored quickly. Between all of the children, day by day, we would feel more and more connected from our experiences.
Even though this trip was based on child slavery, we also got to reconnect with our ancestors. Luckily for my fellow Ambassador Joshua, his ancestors are from Ghana but I am from Sierra Leone. That did not stop me from visualizing how my ancestors were treated and also making a connection that this is where my people stepped away from where they were raised and from their home. People from many countries like my ancestral country of Sierra Leone, as well as Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and more, came through Elmina Slave Castle. To be vanished and brought to a strange place, to be treated like you were a mutt dog and also to work endless hours only to be beaten and starved. Anytime I think of that, my heart skips a beat. But luckily for Gideon, not only was he rescued and saved, because he is from Ghana, he knows his ancestry. But he did lose information about his village and past due to being sold. And that is a big similarity between the two of us. We have lost information due to slavery.
Ghana was a great trip. It was multidimensional and the whole experience meant a lot to me. I now have an opportunity and an obligation to speak out and make sure that all children go to school and play and not live their lives as a slave.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Australian Parliament passes Youth Allowance changes
I guess the highlight is the fact that the rural-youth in Australia were excluded from this allowance.
Parliament passes Youth Allowance changes
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/17/2848880.htm
Monday, 28 September 2009
African Students Deliberate on the African Youth Charter
You may visit http://samuleepha.tigblog.org for the resource.
Alternatively you may access it as below.
It is hoped that you may find this worth reading. And more importantly share your thoughts on it.
Through discussions and further deliberations, we should be able to fine-tune our ideas on the way forward.
Yours truly
SMK.
A PAPER BY SAEED MUSAH-KHALEEPHA ON THE TOPIC: ‘THE AFRICAN UNION AND THE AFRICAN YOUTH CHARTER’ PRESENTED AT A SUMMIT ORGANISED BY THE ALL AFRICA STUDENTS UNION IN ACCRA ON THE THEME: ‘THE AFRICAN YOUTH CHARTER AND THE NKRUMAH AGENDA’ ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2009 AT THE ACCRA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE.
THE AFRICAN UNION AND THE AFRICAN YOUTH CHARTER: Beyond Banjul; Issues in implementing the African Youth Charter
Mr Chairman,
Comrades from the fraternity of Students’ Governance,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have been humbled by the invitation extended to me by this noble organization to deliver a paper on the African Youth Charter. I was initially billed to deliver a paper at a youth summit at a later date at a place away from my homeland, Ghana. And I had just received a communication referring to the postponement of that summit when yours came my way last Wednesday.
As the topics are mutually exclusive I had the challenge of preparing this in a matter of hours and I must say I was deeply consumed in that. This presentation is therefore just the work of a couple of days. Normally I give my write-ups some time to ‘mature’ since some of the issues and wordings may need refinement.
In the communication I received from this union, I was made to understand that I will be sharing the same platform as the Minister for Youth and Sports. Therefore many of the issues I touched on were aimed at soliciting specific responses from him.
Introduction
In July 2006, at the 7th ordinary AU summit held in Banjul, the Gambia, which in itself was held two months after the first ordinary session of the Conference of Ministers in charge of Youth in the African Union (COMY), the Assembly of Heads of State and Government endorsed the African Youth Charter and declared the year 2008 as the year of the African youth and November 1 every year as African Youth Day. And this is just a year before the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) was revised from ten (10) thematic areas to fifteen (15) thematic areas.
The African Youth Charter was informed first of all by the call from member states for the development of a charter at their summit in Algiers in 1999. This was strengthened by the strategic plan of the Commission of the African Union (2004-2007), which had six key objectives viz.: to make the African Union Commission stronger and more responsive; to formulate a shared vision on Africa’s future (especially the youth); to promote and defend Africa’s positions in matters of interest to the continent and its people; to contribute to Africa’s cultural radiance; to enhance international and regional cooperation; and to promote a new citizenship anchored on Africa’s basic values, and on performance initiatives, and promote strong and integrated economies in Africa.
It is important to note here that the African Union Commission has recently been upgraded at an AU meeting in Sirte, Libya and is now known as the African Union Authority. It is the body charged with the implementation of the African Youth Charter.
Perhaps the most important determining factor for the development of the Charter was the status of the African Youth Report 2005 which showed that the ‘youth bulge’ in African populations could be a significant opportunity for Africa to make real progress. And this would require a deliberate effort and investment in youth development across the continent.
This presentation is intended to highlight what needs to be done by the member states (also called State Parties) to ensure that the Charter is taken into account in national development planning as it affects young people, and to ensure that it is implemented at national level through different mechanisms and existing national development frameworks.
The Charter
The African Youth Charter is a basic legal framework to guide and support policies, programmes and actions for youth development and empowerment across Africa. The Charter addresses the rights and freedoms, as well as the welfare, development and responsibilities of the youth.
Articles 2 to 9 of the Charter commits state parties to guarantee the rights of young people to own property, move freely, express themselves, associate freely with other members of the society and to practice whatever religion they choose. It further addresses the issues related to youth development, youth participation in decision making, youth policy (documents), education, health care, poverty reduction, employment, security, leisure and recreation, environment, culture, youth with disabilities, girls’ issues, youth in the diaspora and law enforcement in Articles 10 to 25.
It highlights the responsibilities of the youth regarding their own development and that of society in Article 26.
The Charter defines youth as any individual between the ages of 15 and 35. While this puts to rest the issue of a clear definition for youth on the continent, it also raises another very critical issue regarding personal growth and development. Youth is a transition period, and youth development programmes are put in place to support young people through this transition period. Given that life expectancy is significantly low for many countries. With the current life expectancy of 50.5 years for the continent, and as low as 42 in Sierra Leone, some wonder why we should define being young up to the age of 35? And pose the following questions: ‘When does the individual grow up?’
‘At what age do they then contribute to national development efforts?’
‘At what age do they then become productive and take responsibility for their own wellbeing?’
However, given that the responsibilities of the youth is defined in the Charter, it provides an opportunity for 15 to 35 year olds to take responsibility for their own development and those of their societies, and hopefully quicken the pace for the total emancipation of the African continent.
The Charter came into force on 8 August 2009, following the receipt of the 15th ratification on 8 July 2009. To date, 16 countries have ratified the Charter with Rwanda being the first and Nigeria being the most recent.
Other countries that have ratified the Charter are: Burkina Faso, Djibouti,
Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Togo and Uganda; 32 countries have also signed the Charter. And your host country, Ghana though is a signatory, is yet to ratify the Charter.
Information has it that Angola and Zimbabwe have both ratified the Charter. These are yet to be communicated to the AU Commission – the body responsible for implementing the Charter within the structures of the AU. What remains is to put in place the relevant mechanisms and structures to ensure that the Charter is implemented.
Implementation of the Charter
At a meeting of 11 pilot countries to advance the popularisation, ratification and
implementation of the Charter held in May 2009, African Union member states outlined certain conditions under which the Charter can be implemented. These include that all member states should: ratify the Charter by the end of the year 2010; have in place national youth policies and action plans that take into account and support the implementation of the Charter (this also applies to countries whose national youth policies are not in compliance with the Youth Charter); have mechanisms for reporting on progress made with the implementation of youth policies and programmes; and strengthen their respective representative bodies for youth.
Thus the Charter provides the basis for greater coordination by sectoral ministries responsible for youth (for example ministries of youth, employment and education among others), while providing the youth with a tool for advocacy and demand for greater accountability of government work.
The first step towards the implementation of the Charter is to put in place the relevant
frameworks and institutions that are needed to advance the status of youth in each member state.
These include: the institution of a government ministry or department responsible for youth affairs, the institution of a national youth coordinating body (council or federation or association as the case may be), the development of relevant national youth development frameworks, and the allocation of adequate budgetary resources for youth development.
Whilst Ghana has a Youth Ministry and a Youth Council, one can not best tell about the status of the country with respect to a National Youth Development framework. With respect to adequate budgetary support, it may be noted that concerns have been raised about the substitution of youth development budgets for sports. This in itself may not inure to the best interests of the youth since sports at best solves two of the main issues of youth development, that is, leisure and recreation for many and employment for some.
Another key step in the implementation of the Charter is the need to complement efforts made through the creation of focal points within the diverse line ministries affected by the provisions of the Charter, in order to facilitate coordination across sectors.
To enhance planning, the Charter should serve the basis to align national data-collection systems of persons within the age bracket of 15 to 35 across member states. And this data collection should be an ongoing process.
There has been some seeming confusion about how to implement the Charter. Some countries have proposed to develop separate implementation frameworks for the Charter, while others have indicated that the provisions of the Charter have been integrated into their respective national youth policies. However, the presentation by South Africa’s National Youth Commission points in the right direction:
More significantly, the Charter must be implemented within the framework of existing policies at the national level, especially the National Youth Policy.
Other policies to be adapted include the constitution as well as national policy frameworks on human rights, health, education, employment and various others as set out between Articles 2 and 25. Ghana has done considerably well with respect to some of these indicators. For instance the decision to abolish the shift system, introduce the capitation grant and the school feeding programme in basic schools are most commendable. The country may not fair well in its ‘calypso dance’ with second cycle education as has been observed by many. And I have commented extensively on the employment situation in a write-up I did last month on the occasion of the International Youth Day.
Experts say if the implementation of the Charter is integrated into other national policies, countries will incur little or no extra budgetary costs. Statutory budgetary allocations in the different sectors are often intended to provide services to the entire population. However, in implementing the provisions of the Youth Charter, each sector must keep in mind the need to create specific services for young people between the ages of 15 and 35 within that sector.
For instance Health services must take into account the need for this age bracket to access tailor-made reproductive health services.
Ensuring that services are tailor-made require that the regular trainings that are received by service personnel, that is training programmes meant for the staff of the applicable institution, take into account training for these youth-specific issues without creating new programmes.
In terms of education and skills development training, they are mainly targeted at the youth. However, more needs to be done to ensure that the curriculum meets market demands. And these can be done within the broad framework of education sector reforms.
One critical question that has been repeated several times is: is the African Youth Charter the solution to Africa’s youth development problems? The answer is both yes and no. The answer is yes because at the very minimum the Charter provides the basis for young people to advocate for their rights and it will serve as the guiding framework for youth development. Broadly, the Charter will also serve the means to guide long term planning on youth development. It is no for some reasons and one of it is that one is yet to sight a provision of the Charter that talks about Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Nonetheless it is a bold and assertive document for developing the youth of Africa
You may recall that the years 2009 to 2018 have been declared as the decade on youth development in Africa already. It is expected that this will assist many member states to think long term in their youth development planning. Many member states have national planning horizons set quite far in the future. For example, Botswana have theirs spanning up to 2016, Nigeria, Rwanda and Malawi all have it set up-to 2020, and up to 2030 for Zambia. Thus the Charter will assist these countries to integrate youth issues within their long-term national development frameworks.
A plan of action for the years 2009 to 2018 is also being developed by the AU Commission, which is actually the implementation and monitoring body for the African Youth Charter within the structures of the AU, as a means to advance the implementation of the Youth Charter over the next decade. This will significantly provide further guidance to the work of member states.
The African Youth Charter guarantees the participation of young people in parliament. This commits member states to guarantee a number of seats for youth using a quota system. This is already operational in some countries. And here Uganda and Rwanda are good examples.
Affirmative action must be implemented at national level regarding youth participation, and this must be done in a structured way, as part of national development policy. Increasingly, young people are taking leadership on their own terms and leading the change processes in their countries. They should be given a chance to participate.
In Ghana we have only mentioned a National Youth Parliament, not even the quota system, and it is yet to receive any favourable attention since we had a mock Parliament in February 2007. I have just been informed that the Parliament of Ghana gathered some students from institutions in Accra last Tuesday on the issue of conflict resolution. It is obvious that more ought to be done to accelerate the pace of youth development.
Affirmative action should also target the labour market. Unemployment rates in Africa are significantly high. This is a direct result of weak education systems, and is a direct cause of poverty, which drives many social and health problems. Because of this connection between employment and education, education systems must be shaped to meet market demands and not just education for the sake of literacy and numeracy.
Opportunities must also be provided to the young people to develop skills while at school in order to enable them get jobs immediately they leave school.
This can be done by adopting and implementing affirmative action, regarding employment policies.
Education must be made accessible to our young people, and efforts to provide loans, grants and the like must be expanded. For those who bother to know, you may find my write-up on student loans published in the Daily Graphic in the last quarter of 2005 useful. I am considering publishing it on my blog for your easy access.
In order to bring the provisions of the African Youth Charter to fruition, youth groups must start to organize advocacy campaigns on specific issues in the Charter. They must also start to organise around the governance processes to get themselves and their peers into public policy making spaces.
However, it is important for youth to also demonstrate (provide models) how the implementation of the Youth Charter is possible through the work of their organisations by undertaking education initiatives, participating in community volunteer teaching initiatives, getting involved in volunteer health care and environmental programmes and advocacy campaigns.
The 26th article of the African Youth Charter points clearly in the direction of the role of youth in such activities.
Conclusion
Finally the African Youth Charter is a practical step towards the full empowerment and development of Africa’s youth, who constitute around 20 percent of the continent’s population. While the diverse efforts to ensure that the Charter is implemented are being undertaken, it is important for all stakeholders to clearly appreciate the essence of investing in youth, not just as a burden to society, but as a resource for development.
Only when the youth are well served that the future of any nation can be fully guaranteed.
Mr. Chairman, permit me at this point to share some few thoughts with the delegates.
I take note that you are student leaders in your various countries and institutions. I wish to share with you some five qualities you will not need in today’s world.
You would not need boot camp values: The old values of unquestioning submission to authority are counter productive in this era.
Deniability: Leaders need to close the trust gap. When things go wrong, leaders accept responsibility rather than shift the blame.
The Golden Rule: Not the one that says “Do unto others as you want others to do unto you”, they say that is the silver rule and it is good. But you would not need the one that says, “He who has the gold makes the rules”. High allowances and expensive perks and per diem do not make the leader. Leaders show their abilities not their privileges.
Self-centeredness: In the stressful, fast changing education and leadership environment, leaders give others a chance to shine.
An iron fist: Reign by terror does not cut anymore. “Leaders do not inflict pain: they bear pain”.
Now, bearing in mind that parts of this presentation calls for change either in system or style. Let us focus on some steps to effective change. First you need to create dissatisfaction with status quo. In Nigeria where you have a youth development policy show that you want it implemented. In Uganda and Rwanda where you have the quota system being implemented call for impact assessment. In Ghana where you are not aware whether there is a youth policy or not push and demand for answers.
Then debate possible futures; open minds to new options and mobilise commitments. Ask the ‘what ifs’ and the ‘how abouts’. What if we commit ourselves to an educational system that will not be varied in the next decade or more? How about developing a human face policy to handle juvenile delinquency? And so on.
Next, act to learn, to discover what actually works in real world and foster consensus building.
And finally review, reflect and revise your strategies; monitor and adjust your ongoing efforts and your future plans of engagement.
A word of caution however; these may not be readily welcome by some of your constituents. They may raise legitimate issues of concern and some of them could be any of the following: It won’t work; we are already doing it; it has been tried before; it is not practical; it would not solve the problem; it is too risky; it is based on pure theory; it will cost too much; it will antagonise other stakeholders (management, union, students, lecturers, government); it will create more problems than it solves.
In all of these you will have to let reason prevail.
Mr. Chairman, I have been advocating for non-violent means of resolving differences. And even when you choose non-violence, I advocate for non-adversarial methods or non-litigious means for resolving differences. I am hopeful that you will give this your considered attention.
This summit is on the African Youth Charter and the Nkrumah Agenda. I take note that by now you have had several memorable quotations from Dr Kwame Nkrumah already. I intend to defy this. Rather, I wish to quote from one of Nkrumah’s contemporaries who admitted that he was greatly inspired and motivated by Nkrumah.
That is Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere who said “decades ago, as President of my country, I told Tanzanians that the choice before them was to change or be changed. I was wrong. There was no choice. They had to change and would still be changed.”
Thank you,
God bless the youth of Africa
God bless young people in the world
God bless our future
Thank you
And God bless you.
Saeed Musah-Khaleepha
19 September 2009
rafani@email.com
+233(0)208121764
http://samuleepha.blogspot.com
http://imediate.blogspot.com
http://raafani.blogspot.com
NOTE: References are available on request.
Alternatively you may access it as below.
It is hoped that you may find this worth reading. And more importantly share your thoughts on it.
Through discussions and further deliberations, we should be able to fine-tune our ideas on the way forward.
Yours truly
SMK.
A PAPER BY SAEED MUSAH-KHALEEPHA ON THE TOPIC: ‘THE AFRICAN UNION AND THE AFRICAN YOUTH CHARTER’ PRESENTED AT A SUMMIT ORGANISED BY THE ALL AFRICA STUDENTS UNION IN ACCRA ON THE THEME: ‘THE AFRICAN YOUTH CHARTER AND THE NKRUMAH AGENDA’ ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2009 AT THE ACCRA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE.
THE AFRICAN UNION AND THE AFRICAN YOUTH CHARTER: Beyond Banjul; Issues in implementing the African Youth Charter
Mr Chairman,
Comrades from the fraternity of Students’ Governance,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have been humbled by the invitation extended to me by this noble organization to deliver a paper on the African Youth Charter. I was initially billed to deliver a paper at a youth summit at a later date at a place away from my homeland, Ghana. And I had just received a communication referring to the postponement of that summit when yours came my way last Wednesday.
As the topics are mutually exclusive I had the challenge of preparing this in a matter of hours and I must say I was deeply consumed in that. This presentation is therefore just the work of a couple of days. Normally I give my write-ups some time to ‘mature’ since some of the issues and wordings may need refinement.
In the communication I received from this union, I was made to understand that I will be sharing the same platform as the Minister for Youth and Sports. Therefore many of the issues I touched on were aimed at soliciting specific responses from him.
Introduction
In July 2006, at the 7th ordinary AU summit held in Banjul, the Gambia, which in itself was held two months after the first ordinary session of the Conference of Ministers in charge of Youth in the African Union (COMY), the Assembly of Heads of State and Government endorsed the African Youth Charter and declared the year 2008 as the year of the African youth and November 1 every year as African Youth Day. And this is just a year before the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) was revised from ten (10) thematic areas to fifteen (15) thematic areas.
The African Youth Charter was informed first of all by the call from member states for the development of a charter at their summit in Algiers in 1999. This was strengthened by the strategic plan of the Commission of the African Union (2004-2007), which had six key objectives viz.: to make the African Union Commission stronger and more responsive; to formulate a shared vision on Africa’s future (especially the youth); to promote and defend Africa’s positions in matters of interest to the continent and its people; to contribute to Africa’s cultural radiance; to enhance international and regional cooperation; and to promote a new citizenship anchored on Africa’s basic values, and on performance initiatives, and promote strong and integrated economies in Africa.
It is important to note here that the African Union Commission has recently been upgraded at an AU meeting in Sirte, Libya and is now known as the African Union Authority. It is the body charged with the implementation of the African Youth Charter.
Perhaps the most important determining factor for the development of the Charter was the status of the African Youth Report 2005 which showed that the ‘youth bulge’ in African populations could be a significant opportunity for Africa to make real progress. And this would require a deliberate effort and investment in youth development across the continent.
This presentation is intended to highlight what needs to be done by the member states (also called State Parties) to ensure that the Charter is taken into account in national development planning as it affects young people, and to ensure that it is implemented at national level through different mechanisms and existing national development frameworks.
The Charter
The African Youth Charter is a basic legal framework to guide and support policies, programmes and actions for youth development and empowerment across Africa. The Charter addresses the rights and freedoms, as well as the welfare, development and responsibilities of the youth.
Articles 2 to 9 of the Charter commits state parties to guarantee the rights of young people to own property, move freely, express themselves, associate freely with other members of the society and to practice whatever religion they choose. It further addresses the issues related to youth development, youth participation in decision making, youth policy (documents), education, health care, poverty reduction, employment, security, leisure and recreation, environment, culture, youth with disabilities, girls’ issues, youth in the diaspora and law enforcement in Articles 10 to 25.
It highlights the responsibilities of the youth regarding their own development and that of society in Article 26.
The Charter defines youth as any individual between the ages of 15 and 35. While this puts to rest the issue of a clear definition for youth on the continent, it also raises another very critical issue regarding personal growth and development. Youth is a transition period, and youth development programmes are put in place to support young people through this transition period. Given that life expectancy is significantly low for many countries. With the current life expectancy of 50.5 years for the continent, and as low as 42 in Sierra Leone, some wonder why we should define being young up to the age of 35? And pose the following questions: ‘When does the individual grow up?’
‘At what age do they then contribute to national development efforts?’
‘At what age do they then become productive and take responsibility for their own wellbeing?’
However, given that the responsibilities of the youth is defined in the Charter, it provides an opportunity for 15 to 35 year olds to take responsibility for their own development and those of their societies, and hopefully quicken the pace for the total emancipation of the African continent.
The Charter came into force on 8 August 2009, following the receipt of the 15th ratification on 8 July 2009. To date, 16 countries have ratified the Charter with Rwanda being the first and Nigeria being the most recent.
Other countries that have ratified the Charter are: Burkina Faso, Djibouti,
Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Togo and Uganda; 32 countries have also signed the Charter. And your host country, Ghana though is a signatory, is yet to ratify the Charter.
Information has it that Angola and Zimbabwe have both ratified the Charter. These are yet to be communicated to the AU Commission – the body responsible for implementing the Charter within the structures of the AU. What remains is to put in place the relevant mechanisms and structures to ensure that the Charter is implemented.
Implementation of the Charter
At a meeting of 11 pilot countries to advance the popularisation, ratification and
implementation of the Charter held in May 2009, African Union member states outlined certain conditions under which the Charter can be implemented. These include that all member states should: ratify the Charter by the end of the year 2010; have in place national youth policies and action plans that take into account and support the implementation of the Charter (this also applies to countries whose national youth policies are not in compliance with the Youth Charter); have mechanisms for reporting on progress made with the implementation of youth policies and programmes; and strengthen their respective representative bodies for youth.
Thus the Charter provides the basis for greater coordination by sectoral ministries responsible for youth (for example ministries of youth, employment and education among others), while providing the youth with a tool for advocacy and demand for greater accountability of government work.
The first step towards the implementation of the Charter is to put in place the relevant
frameworks and institutions that are needed to advance the status of youth in each member state.
These include: the institution of a government ministry or department responsible for youth affairs, the institution of a national youth coordinating body (council or federation or association as the case may be), the development of relevant national youth development frameworks, and the allocation of adequate budgetary resources for youth development.
Whilst Ghana has a Youth Ministry and a Youth Council, one can not best tell about the status of the country with respect to a National Youth Development framework. With respect to adequate budgetary support, it may be noted that concerns have been raised about the substitution of youth development budgets for sports. This in itself may not inure to the best interests of the youth since sports at best solves two of the main issues of youth development, that is, leisure and recreation for many and employment for some.
Another key step in the implementation of the Charter is the need to complement efforts made through the creation of focal points within the diverse line ministries affected by the provisions of the Charter, in order to facilitate coordination across sectors.
To enhance planning, the Charter should serve the basis to align national data-collection systems of persons within the age bracket of 15 to 35 across member states. And this data collection should be an ongoing process.
There has been some seeming confusion about how to implement the Charter. Some countries have proposed to develop separate implementation frameworks for the Charter, while others have indicated that the provisions of the Charter have been integrated into their respective national youth policies. However, the presentation by South Africa’s National Youth Commission points in the right direction:
More significantly, the Charter must be implemented within the framework of existing policies at the national level, especially the National Youth Policy.
Other policies to be adapted include the constitution as well as national policy frameworks on human rights, health, education, employment and various others as set out between Articles 2 and 25. Ghana has done considerably well with respect to some of these indicators. For instance the decision to abolish the shift system, introduce the capitation grant and the school feeding programme in basic schools are most commendable. The country may not fair well in its ‘calypso dance’ with second cycle education as has been observed by many. And I have commented extensively on the employment situation in a write-up I did last month on the occasion of the International Youth Day.
Experts say if the implementation of the Charter is integrated into other national policies, countries will incur little or no extra budgetary costs. Statutory budgetary allocations in the different sectors are often intended to provide services to the entire population. However, in implementing the provisions of the Youth Charter, each sector must keep in mind the need to create specific services for young people between the ages of 15 and 35 within that sector.
For instance Health services must take into account the need for this age bracket to access tailor-made reproductive health services.
Ensuring that services are tailor-made require that the regular trainings that are received by service personnel, that is training programmes meant for the staff of the applicable institution, take into account training for these youth-specific issues without creating new programmes.
In terms of education and skills development training, they are mainly targeted at the youth. However, more needs to be done to ensure that the curriculum meets market demands. And these can be done within the broad framework of education sector reforms.
One critical question that has been repeated several times is: is the African Youth Charter the solution to Africa’s youth development problems? The answer is both yes and no. The answer is yes because at the very minimum the Charter provides the basis for young people to advocate for their rights and it will serve as the guiding framework for youth development. Broadly, the Charter will also serve the means to guide long term planning on youth development. It is no for some reasons and one of it is that one is yet to sight a provision of the Charter that talks about Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Nonetheless it is a bold and assertive document for developing the youth of Africa
You may recall that the years 2009 to 2018 have been declared as the decade on youth development in Africa already. It is expected that this will assist many member states to think long term in their youth development planning. Many member states have national planning horizons set quite far in the future. For example, Botswana have theirs spanning up to 2016, Nigeria, Rwanda and Malawi all have it set up-to 2020, and up to 2030 for Zambia. Thus the Charter will assist these countries to integrate youth issues within their long-term national development frameworks.
A plan of action for the years 2009 to 2018 is also being developed by the AU Commission, which is actually the implementation and monitoring body for the African Youth Charter within the structures of the AU, as a means to advance the implementation of the Youth Charter over the next decade. This will significantly provide further guidance to the work of member states.
The African Youth Charter guarantees the participation of young people in parliament. This commits member states to guarantee a number of seats for youth using a quota system. This is already operational in some countries. And here Uganda and Rwanda are good examples.
Affirmative action must be implemented at national level regarding youth participation, and this must be done in a structured way, as part of national development policy. Increasingly, young people are taking leadership on their own terms and leading the change processes in their countries. They should be given a chance to participate.
In Ghana we have only mentioned a National Youth Parliament, not even the quota system, and it is yet to receive any favourable attention since we had a mock Parliament in February 2007. I have just been informed that the Parliament of Ghana gathered some students from institutions in Accra last Tuesday on the issue of conflict resolution. It is obvious that more ought to be done to accelerate the pace of youth development.
Affirmative action should also target the labour market. Unemployment rates in Africa are significantly high. This is a direct result of weak education systems, and is a direct cause of poverty, which drives many social and health problems. Because of this connection between employment and education, education systems must be shaped to meet market demands and not just education for the sake of literacy and numeracy.
Opportunities must also be provided to the young people to develop skills while at school in order to enable them get jobs immediately they leave school.
This can be done by adopting and implementing affirmative action, regarding employment policies.
Education must be made accessible to our young people, and efforts to provide loans, grants and the like must be expanded. For those who bother to know, you may find my write-up on student loans published in the Daily Graphic in the last quarter of 2005 useful. I am considering publishing it on my blog for your easy access.
In order to bring the provisions of the African Youth Charter to fruition, youth groups must start to organize advocacy campaigns on specific issues in the Charter. They must also start to organise around the governance processes to get themselves and their peers into public policy making spaces.
However, it is important for youth to also demonstrate (provide models) how the implementation of the Youth Charter is possible through the work of their organisations by undertaking education initiatives, participating in community volunteer teaching initiatives, getting involved in volunteer health care and environmental programmes and advocacy campaigns.
The 26th article of the African Youth Charter points clearly in the direction of the role of youth in such activities.
Conclusion
Finally the African Youth Charter is a practical step towards the full empowerment and development of Africa’s youth, who constitute around 20 percent of the continent’s population. While the diverse efforts to ensure that the Charter is implemented are being undertaken, it is important for all stakeholders to clearly appreciate the essence of investing in youth, not just as a burden to society, but as a resource for development.
Only when the youth are well served that the future of any nation can be fully guaranteed.
Mr. Chairman, permit me at this point to share some few thoughts with the delegates.
I take note that you are student leaders in your various countries and institutions. I wish to share with you some five qualities you will not need in today’s world.
You would not need boot camp values: The old values of unquestioning submission to authority are counter productive in this era.
Deniability: Leaders need to close the trust gap. When things go wrong, leaders accept responsibility rather than shift the blame.
The Golden Rule: Not the one that says “Do unto others as you want others to do unto you”, they say that is the silver rule and it is good. But you would not need the one that says, “He who has the gold makes the rules”. High allowances and expensive perks and per diem do not make the leader. Leaders show their abilities not their privileges.
Self-centeredness: In the stressful, fast changing education and leadership environment, leaders give others a chance to shine.
An iron fist: Reign by terror does not cut anymore. “Leaders do not inflict pain: they bear pain”.
Now, bearing in mind that parts of this presentation calls for change either in system or style. Let us focus on some steps to effective change. First you need to create dissatisfaction with status quo. In Nigeria where you have a youth development policy show that you want it implemented. In Uganda and Rwanda where you have the quota system being implemented call for impact assessment. In Ghana where you are not aware whether there is a youth policy or not push and demand for answers.
Then debate possible futures; open minds to new options and mobilise commitments. Ask the ‘what ifs’ and the ‘how abouts’. What if we commit ourselves to an educational system that will not be varied in the next decade or more? How about developing a human face policy to handle juvenile delinquency? And so on.
Next, act to learn, to discover what actually works in real world and foster consensus building.
And finally review, reflect and revise your strategies; monitor and adjust your ongoing efforts and your future plans of engagement.
A word of caution however; these may not be readily welcome by some of your constituents. They may raise legitimate issues of concern and some of them could be any of the following: It won’t work; we are already doing it; it has been tried before; it is not practical; it would not solve the problem; it is too risky; it is based on pure theory; it will cost too much; it will antagonise other stakeholders (management, union, students, lecturers, government); it will create more problems than it solves.
In all of these you will have to let reason prevail.
Mr. Chairman, I have been advocating for non-violent means of resolving differences. And even when you choose non-violence, I advocate for non-adversarial methods or non-litigious means for resolving differences. I am hopeful that you will give this your considered attention.
This summit is on the African Youth Charter and the Nkrumah Agenda. I take note that by now you have had several memorable quotations from Dr Kwame Nkrumah already. I intend to defy this. Rather, I wish to quote from one of Nkrumah’s contemporaries who admitted that he was greatly inspired and motivated by Nkrumah.
That is Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere who said “decades ago, as President of my country, I told Tanzanians that the choice before them was to change or be changed. I was wrong. There was no choice. They had to change and would still be changed.”
Thank you,
God bless the youth of Africa
God bless young people in the world
God bless our future
Thank you
And God bless you.
Saeed Musah-Khaleepha
19 September 2009
rafani@email.com
+233(0)208121764
http://samuleepha.blogspot.com
http://imediate.blogspot.com
http://raafani.blogspot.com
NOTE: References are available on request.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2009: “SUSTAINABILITY: OUR CHALLENGE. OUR FUTURE”
The 12th of August each year is commemorated as International Youth Day.
The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) adopted resolution 54/120 on 17 December 1999 to endorse the recommendations made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (held in Lisbon from August 8 to 12, 1998) that 12 August should be declared International Youth Day.
The Assembly recommended that public information activities should be organized to support the day as a way to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond which was also adopted by the General Assembly in 1995 in resolution 50/81. This is to recognize the imagination, ideals and energies of young people as vital for the continuing development of the societies in which they live.
Earlier in 1965 the Member States of the UN acknowledged this when they endorsed the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples.
Two decades later the UN General Assembly then observed 1985 as the International Youth Year with the theme Participation, Development and Peace which drew international attention to the important role young people play in the world and in particular, their potential contribution to development.
The World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond is therefore supposed to guide policy initiation and implementation in the area of youth and youth development. In its original form, the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) outlined 10 thematic areas to be addressed. However in 2007 Member States agreed to add five additional areas.
The first ten areas of WPAY are education, employment, hunger and poverty, health, environment, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls and young women and the full and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision-making. The other five added in 2007 comprise globalization, information and communication technologies, HIV/AIDS, conflict, and intergenerational issues.
Each of the fifteen priority areas is meant to reflect the three themes of the International Youth Year: Participation, Development and Peace. These objectives are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.
Last year’s celebration was on the theme “Youth and climate change:Time for Action”. And this year’s celebration is on the theme “Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future.”
Sustainability does not only refer to maintaining environmental balance and renewal. Sustainability encapsulates three facets of life: the environment, society and the economy. We live our lives in the overlaps and intersections of these facets, and our actions and attitudes help shape them. Their changing shapes in turn affect the way we are able to live our lives. The negative effects of unsustainable behaviour are not easily contained.
For instance it is estimated that Ghana may lose its forest cover in 23 years. Statistics has it that Ghana’s forest cover has shrunk from 8.3 million hectares in 2000 to 1.5 million hectares in 2006 and continue to deplete at a rate of 65000 hectares. This gives clear indications that programmes on aforestation may not be yielding the desired results.
In the area of the economy. There are five economic indicators which are the rate of inflation, the interest rate, the exchange rate, the GDP growth rate and the rate of unemployment. In 2005 the World Youth Report estimates that about 88.2 million youth are unemployed globally and according to the estimations of the International Labour Organisation this represents a significant 14.5 percent of young persons who are unemployed in the world.
In Ghana, at President Kufour’s first major press conference at the castle Osu, the then President of the Ghana Journalist Association, Madam Adjoa Yeboah Afari asked the then President of the Republic about the unemployment rate. The President observed that the figures are not readily available and indicated that the Ghana Statistical Service was not adequately resourced to produce these figures. While this situation is worrying, it is not surprising due to the nature and character of unemployment itself coupled with the reluctance of many job seekers to make full disclosure over their employment situation.
Indeed the unemployment situation is a youthful phenomenon. The unemployment rate in the younger age group 15 to 24 is more than twice that of the 25 to 44 age group and more than thrice that of the older age group of 45 to 64. Conscious efforts must therefore be made to provide gainful employment opportunities to the youth. The policy of the government of Ghana to freeze employment in the public sector does not seem to go down well with many.
Youth unemployment is only a tip of the iceberg. Although more difficult to quantify, there are two other groups that together suffer similar frustrations as the unemployed: the discouraged youth and the working poor. Permit me to say that the youth are hardworking and not lazy. A careful look at streetism will justify how young people living on the streets struggle and work very hard to survive though they may be on the streets through no fault of theirs.
Graduate unemployment is a big issue, so is streetism. Streetism has the tendency to breed violence, armed robbery and drug addiction – all of which are injurious to the human person with a high social cost.
This brings our attention to the society. There seem to be a general challenge in parenting. The phenomenon of cyber fraud and armed robbery are profound statements on the issue of parenting. The burdens of keeping a responsible family as a basic unit of society seem to increase by the day. Our social and religious forums must be seen to articulate the essence on maintaining a family that conforms to societal norms and values.
The WPAY and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) should together help us maintain a clear view about the future. Priority must be placed on education if we want to make much progress. Government, policy-makers and the civil society should give special attention to promoting free and universal education up to the second cycle level in poor communities where the opportunity costs to staying in school are prohibitively high for young people and their families. Stakeholders must in particular give their unconditional support to the Capitation Grant. It is observed that investing in youth in rural areas in a way that decreases their likelihood of migrating would have the added effect of helping to improve conditions for young people in urban areas.
Access to free education is not only one of the eight MDGs or one of the fifteen priorities of the WPAY but a provision of Article 25 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana, whose wording is almost the same as Article 13 of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Finally the saying that the youth are the future leaders is at best a cliché. Whilst the youth may not view it as ruse intended to render us inactive till the future comes, it may have factual deficiencies. The fact that the youth are the part of the current generation that is more likely to be a part of the future generation is without doubt. Youth participation in all aspects of society is therefore essential to our sustainability and continuous development. It is through participation that we will understand the rationale of the decisions of today and those meant for the future.
We welcome concerted efforts by all stakeholders to harness the potentials of the youth. The National Youth Council in particular must make available to all stakeholders the contents of Ghana’s national youth policy if there is any.
From the foregoing let us emphasise on the need to adopt a global sense of social responsibility. With this in mind, and as the energizers of today and the holders of tomorrow, it is imperative that the youth embrace the challenge of sustainability in its fullness as they help pave the way forward through the 21st century and beyond. Youth action, inclusion, and their full participation are keys to developing today’s world for the generations of today and tomorrow. And there is no gain saying that these are central to a sustainable existence.
.....................
Saeed Musah-Khaleepha
rafani@email.com
+233(0)208121764
Box NB 889, Nii Boitown, Accra, Ghana and
Box AS 194, Asawasi, Kumasi, Ghana.
The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) adopted resolution 54/120 on 17 December 1999 to endorse the recommendations made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (held in Lisbon from August 8 to 12, 1998) that 12 August should be declared International Youth Day.
The Assembly recommended that public information activities should be organized to support the day as a way to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond which was also adopted by the General Assembly in 1995 in resolution 50/81. This is to recognize the imagination, ideals and energies of young people as vital for the continuing development of the societies in which they live.
Earlier in 1965 the Member States of the UN acknowledged this when they endorsed the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples.
Two decades later the UN General Assembly then observed 1985 as the International Youth Year with the theme Participation, Development and Peace which drew international attention to the important role young people play in the world and in particular, their potential contribution to development.
The World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond is therefore supposed to guide policy initiation and implementation in the area of youth and youth development. In its original form, the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) outlined 10 thematic areas to be addressed. However in 2007 Member States agreed to add five additional areas.
The first ten areas of WPAY are education, employment, hunger and poverty, health, environment, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls and young women and the full and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision-making. The other five added in 2007 comprise globalization, information and communication technologies, HIV/AIDS, conflict, and intergenerational issues.
Each of the fifteen priority areas is meant to reflect the three themes of the International Youth Year: Participation, Development and Peace. These objectives are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.
Last year’s celebration was on the theme “Youth and climate change:Time for Action”. And this year’s celebration is on the theme “Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future.”
Sustainability does not only refer to maintaining environmental balance and renewal. Sustainability encapsulates three facets of life: the environment, society and the economy. We live our lives in the overlaps and intersections of these facets, and our actions and attitudes help shape them. Their changing shapes in turn affect the way we are able to live our lives. The negative effects of unsustainable behaviour are not easily contained.
For instance it is estimated that Ghana may lose its forest cover in 23 years. Statistics has it that Ghana’s forest cover has shrunk from 8.3 million hectares in 2000 to 1.5 million hectares in 2006 and continue to deplete at a rate of 65000 hectares. This gives clear indications that programmes on aforestation may not be yielding the desired results.
In the area of the economy. There are five economic indicators which are the rate of inflation, the interest rate, the exchange rate, the GDP growth rate and the rate of unemployment. In 2005 the World Youth Report estimates that about 88.2 million youth are unemployed globally and according to the estimations of the International Labour Organisation this represents a significant 14.5 percent of young persons who are unemployed in the world.
In Ghana, at President Kufour’s first major press conference at the castle Osu, the then President of the Ghana Journalist Association, Madam Adjoa Yeboah Afari asked the then President of the Republic about the unemployment rate. The President observed that the figures are not readily available and indicated that the Ghana Statistical Service was not adequately resourced to produce these figures. While this situation is worrying, it is not surprising due to the nature and character of unemployment itself coupled with the reluctance of many job seekers to make full disclosure over their employment situation.
Indeed the unemployment situation is a youthful phenomenon. The unemployment rate in the younger age group 15 to 24 is more than twice that of the 25 to 44 age group and more than thrice that of the older age group of 45 to 64. Conscious efforts must therefore be made to provide gainful employment opportunities to the youth. The policy of the government of Ghana to freeze employment in the public sector does not seem to go down well with many.
Youth unemployment is only a tip of the iceberg. Although more difficult to quantify, there are two other groups that together suffer similar frustrations as the unemployed: the discouraged youth and the working poor. Permit me to say that the youth are hardworking and not lazy. A careful look at streetism will justify how young people living on the streets struggle and work very hard to survive though they may be on the streets through no fault of theirs.
Graduate unemployment is a big issue, so is streetism. Streetism has the tendency to breed violence, armed robbery and drug addiction – all of which are injurious to the human person with a high social cost.
This brings our attention to the society. There seem to be a general challenge in parenting. The phenomenon of cyber fraud and armed robbery are profound statements on the issue of parenting. The burdens of keeping a responsible family as a basic unit of society seem to increase by the day. Our social and religious forums must be seen to articulate the essence on maintaining a family that conforms to societal norms and values.
The WPAY and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) should together help us maintain a clear view about the future. Priority must be placed on education if we want to make much progress. Government, policy-makers and the civil society should give special attention to promoting free and universal education up to the second cycle level in poor communities where the opportunity costs to staying in school are prohibitively high for young people and their families. Stakeholders must in particular give their unconditional support to the Capitation Grant. It is observed that investing in youth in rural areas in a way that decreases their likelihood of migrating would have the added effect of helping to improve conditions for young people in urban areas.
Access to free education is not only one of the eight MDGs or one of the fifteen priorities of the WPAY but a provision of Article 25 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana, whose wording is almost the same as Article 13 of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Finally the saying that the youth are the future leaders is at best a cliché. Whilst the youth may not view it as ruse intended to render us inactive till the future comes, it may have factual deficiencies. The fact that the youth are the part of the current generation that is more likely to be a part of the future generation is without doubt. Youth participation in all aspects of society is therefore essential to our sustainability and continuous development. It is through participation that we will understand the rationale of the decisions of today and those meant for the future.
We welcome concerted efforts by all stakeholders to harness the potentials of the youth. The National Youth Council in particular must make available to all stakeholders the contents of Ghana’s national youth policy if there is any.
From the foregoing let us emphasise on the need to adopt a global sense of social responsibility. With this in mind, and as the energizers of today and the holders of tomorrow, it is imperative that the youth embrace the challenge of sustainability in its fullness as they help pave the way forward through the 21st century and beyond. Youth action, inclusion, and their full participation are keys to developing today’s world for the generations of today and tomorrow. And there is no gain saying that these are central to a sustainable existence.
.....................
Saeed Musah-Khaleepha
rafani@email.com
+233(0)208121764
Box NB 889, Nii Boitown, Accra, Ghana and
Box AS 194, Asawasi, Kumasi, Ghana.
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