Youth rep urges more young blood in leadership for Ghana’s development

A youth representative speaking in Accra on Tuesday urged inclusive leadership with more youthful persons in positions of responsibility to realize socio-economic and political transformation in Ghana.

Radia Chentiwuni Issahaku, Member of the Northern Regional Youth Network, made this call during the launch of the Compact for Ghana’s Political and Economic Transformation (Ghana Compact).

Issahaku said Ghana needed a national development plan that prioritized accountable, inclusive, and transparent governance.

He said such a development plan should make Ghana “a country that provides quality education and leadership for the youth, a country that has values and principles with young people leading the change.”

Issahaku added that, “With the launch of the Ghana Compact, I see a Ghana with a development plan that prioritizes accountable, inclusive, and transparent governance.”

“I see a Ghana that provides quality education and leadership for the youth, a country that has values and principles with young people leading the change,” Issahaku stated

“What would I like to see change for this to happen? I’d like a revolution. And when I talk about a revolution, I do not mean a coup. I mean a cultural shift, so that more young people are in positions to lead this country.”

He said there was policy imbalance when the voting age is pegged at 18 years yet the average age of parliamentarians was 49 years.

The new compact, developed by the Africa Centre for Economic Policy (ACET) and other development think tanks, proposed, among other priorities, inclusive leadership to help Ghana achieve its development aspirations.

In his opening remarks, Kingsley Amoako, President of ACET said Ghana needed political and constitutional reforms to achieve real inclusive and sustainable development.

Amoako said the current state of the country’s constitutional and political order was responsible for the frequent policy changes, making development planning difficult over the long term.

He said this was also responsible for “the struggles to translate our abundant natural and human resources into economic and social well-being.”

The economist and development expert said Ghana must develop a new, more hopeful, and inclusive way to tackle its fundamental challenges. “We must do so with the sense of urgency that the situation demands.”

“To create the Ghana we want, we need political and constitutional reforms that help end extreme political division and polarization,” he urged.

Source: newsghana.com.gh