Sunyani, June 13, GNA – The Sunyani Youth Development Association (SYDA), a youth empowerment and skills development group has declared relentless war against irregular migration by the Ghanaian youth.
According to the Association, it was committed and would leave no stone unturned to ensure that Ghana was declared zero on the irregular migration index by 2030.
“Battling this war would not be easy at all”, admitted Mr. Atta Akoto Snr, the President of the Association, but was quick to add that with robust and strong political will, the nation could make significant headway to control the hazardous voyage.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, Mr. Akoto Snr. observed that irregular migration was not only dangerous to migrants, but also militate against socio-economic development and therefore retarded speedy progress of developing nations.
He said the Association was doing vigorous research to identify remote and key causes of irregular migration, which remained predominantly high in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions.
Mr. Akoto Snr. indicated among the immediate causes that unemployment and hard socio-economic conditions fueled irregular migration.
The Association was therefore seeking support, both financial and technical to be able to design “business programmes” to assist potential migrants to engage in skill training to acquire gainful employment and contribute to nation building, he hinted.
“This is the brain behind the formation of the SYDA to provide employable skills and build the capacity of the youth to become national assets and not liabilities”, Mr. Akoto Snr. said.
He cited besides the loss of lives on the high seas, “irregular migration is a drain on the nation’s human resource base and consequently a great loss of the country’s future workforce”.
Mr. Akoto Snr. said reports showed that 226 African migrants died on the high seas between January and February this year, whilst 5,483 migrants died on the Mediterranean in 2018.
Out of the more than 1.5million migrants who died on the sea worldwide in 2015, 10,087 of them were from Africa, he said.
It was against this background that the SYDA had initiated a project and was recruiting the jobless and uneducated youth among others to provide them with skills training for them to become self-employees ultimately, Mr. Akoto Snr. explained.
The trades that they would be engaging include dressmaking, ‘kente’ and cotton material weaving, hair dressing, leather shoes and bags works, masonry, plumbing, bead-making, fashion and decoration, carpentry and auto mechanic.
Mr. Kwadwo Akomea Sakyi, the Association’s Secretary announced that 54 youth from both the Sunyani Municipality and the Sunyani West District were currently under training to acquire skills in different trades for a three year period at the expense of the Association.
Mr. Sakyi announced the Association with the permission of the Sunyani Traditional Council had embarked on coconut plantation along the banks of rivers and streams in the Sunyani Municipality to generate funds to support the training programmes.
The lands on different locations covered 50 metres away from each side of a river or stream and estimated to be 80acres, he said.
The ultimate objective of that plantation project, according to him was to create a protective cover for the rivers and streams against effects of climate and environmental degradation.
He stated the Association had decided to collaborate with stakeholders such as the Ghana Education Service (GES), the National Youth Authority and religious organizations to undertake extensive education on migration to make the youth well-informed about the dangers of irregular migration.
Mr. Sakyi expressed the hope that the impact of the Association’s efforts would contribute immensely to reduce drugs peddling and abuse, alcoholism, burgling, armed-robbery and other social vices in the society.
