February 23, 2021
By: James Kamara-Manneh
In 2018 the Sierra Leone People’s Party manifesto entitled “the People’s Manifesto” outlined plans to empower youths, women and girls. It was a priority of the New Direction government to develop the human capital. This will require investing in youth, women, children and the disadvantaged groups as well as increasing the productivity of our workers and improving the working environment and conditions.
In almost 3 years in office, the improvements made by the Youth Ministry have been quite awesome. President Bio’s vision for youth empowerment scheme has been a far better from what obtained in past governments that made lofty promises, gave the youth unrealistic expectations, yet dashed their hopes.
Since President Bio assumed office in 2018, there has been a gamut of youth-driven empowerment projects. This is aside from the precursor developments sprouting from the 2021 budget regarding youth empowerment. The Youth Ministry has floated ground-breaking initiatives intended to create jobs and stem the tide of youth driven violence and crimes.
Gone are those dark and uncertain moments of false hope, where we have untrained and unemployed youths that heavily relied on drugs abuse, political tool to cause havoc, armed robbery and other related violence crime. In despair, youths slowly fell off the leadership and development ladder of Sierra Leone like aimless hunter hunting the ground. They had lost the face of being described as leaders of tomorrow; they were gradually fading out and diminishing to become “Kush users” harping daily “bra u borbor de yea” (Boss your boy is here).
In addressing this issue of how youth suffered due to unemployment, neglect, unskilled and unqualified, the President has appointed and restructured the Ministry to give a sense of assurance that youths constituting over 30% of Sierra Leone’s population can propel the needed change in Sierra Leone. A deep dive into the activities of the Youth Ministry unearths a glowing review of tacit developments that have not been given the much-needed publicity they deserve.
The National Youth Commission came into existence through an Act of Parliament, and has been mandated to annually enlist, train and deploy graduate across communities and institution nationwide as part of national youth service. In 2021 the NYC enlisted over 700 graduates as part of the year scheme. Later, the nation witnessed colorful passing out ceremony held at the Police Training Filed, Hasting were over 500 energetic men and women proudly geared up to face life ahead.
It was in 2018, that the Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh launched the UNDP sponsored National Youth Service and commissioned the first batch of 200 graduates for the project. Being one of President Bio’s vision to tackle the age-old unemployment challenges faced by youth, the NYS was created with a view to promoting youth participation in governance and provide newly qualified graduates with opportunities to obtain practical job experience in the public and private sectors of the economy, thereby lowering the rate of unemployment amongst graduates. To date, the National Youth Commission, which is an offshoot of the Youth Ministry, has commissioned the third batch of graduates into the youth scheme.
Unlike the NYS, which caters for skilled youths to advance their respective careers, the Car Wash Project has amazingly softened the effect of unemployment amongst unskilled youths in the Western Area. In December 2019, the Ministry of Youths, handed over 10 newly constructed Car Wash centers to help lighten the burden of unemployment among unskilled youths in Sierra Leone. More centers are undergoing constructions in different areas.
The new directions governments allocated huge sum of three billion six hundred and twenty nine million five hundred and twenty three thousand nine hundred and twenty Leones to the Ministry of Youths Affairs under the President Livelihood Technical skills programme for more construction of car wash centers in the whole country.
Today, what appeared to be ghettos and hotspots for crimes, violence and armed robberies have become sources of livelihood for many unskilled youths in their respective localities. Tested and proven successful, the ministry intends to construct more car wash centres nationwide.
Another achievement by the News Direction was made in July 2020 were we saw President Julius Maada Bio disbursed over a billion Leones to the Youth Ministry for the construction of local fishing boats in Bonthe, Pujehun, Kambia, Port Loko, Western Area Urban and Rural districts.
In fulfillment of the government’s plan to empower the youths in the fishing sector, the President commissioned 70 fishing boats with machines, fishing nets, and life jackets provided by the Youth Ministry. The Youth in fishing project stands to benefit approximately 1,400 youths directly in the riverine areas.
At the turning of the sod for the construction of a Farm Gate Market in the National Youth Farm at Masiaka, it was a demonstration of re-echoing President Bio’s vision to use agriculture as the device for sustainable youth employment, economic development and food self-sufficiency, and in fulfillment of that dream, the Ministry of Youth Affairs has established four Youth Farms in Tonkolili, Kono, Kenema, and Koinadugu Districts.
In July 2020, the Youth in Agriculture Project disbursed One Hundred and Eighty-Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand Leones (188,950,000.00) as stipend to 451 farm workers in Tonkolili, Port Loko, Koinadugu, Kono and Kenema Districts. Similarly, the Ministry intends to give stipends to 501 youth farmers in the districts highlighted.
The Youth Ministry has reviewed the drafting and validation of the National Youth Policy for 2020 with the theme: “Empowered Youth Leading the Development of a New Sierra Leone.”
This policy mandate has received the approval of Cabinet, a reflection of developmental processes which reflect ambitious task to have an inclusive, transparent and transformative youth policy in the Country.
In 2020, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Youth Affairs officially turned the sod to mark the start of construction of Youth Connect Hubs in three (3) districts.
This youth Connect Hub seeks to bring a positive impact on the society and contributes to balance disparity and inequality predicated by the absence of adequate quality education, sexual reproductive healthcare, skills and opportunities for youth in Sierra Leone. The three districts to have benefited were Kailahun, Falaba and Bonthe.
Many major projects that are ongoing under the new direction manifesto. These are intended to help our youths to get a hold on themselves and to know that all is not lost. This is the time to grab such opportunity. Many a time we have witnessed riotous incidences involving youths and nothing good normally comes out of such.
Even when opportunities are here for our youths, there are some who think life is nothing for them if they are not on drugs or living a reckless life. They still want to remain as deviants. The years wasted could be weary. But the time is now to grab opportunities as prescribed under “The People’s Manifesto.”
In the words of Friedrich Nietzsche“the surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” Youths this the time to give life a second thought.
