The NDC Youth Manifesto was launched on Monday, August 12, 2024
With the December 7 elections drawing closer by the day, the youth wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by workaholic George Opare Addo (Pablo) organised two public events on Tuesday, providing a platform for NDC 2024 candidate John Dramani Mahama to unveil a series of measures to improve opportunities for young people.
First, both the political launch at the UPSA-Kofi Ohene-Konadu Auditorium and the interactive youth forum at the Bukom Boxing Arena in our politics are a blueprint of what Ghana can be and a promise of the difference that NDC can and will make.
Overall, the creation of a youth employment office, the youth in mining policy, the anti-tuition fee policy, the establishment of service centers for farmers and the provision of free schooling in all private high schools are among Mahama’s promises in his youth manifesto for the 2024 general elections.
The NDC’s Youth Manifesto promises to tackle unemployment with an ambitious strategy and $3 billion investment in ICT to create at least 300,000 jobs under the Digital Jobs Initiative. The Youth Manifesto also promises to launch the ONE MILLION CODERS PROGRAM, which aims to train one million young people in coding and in-demand digital skills for the growing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) ecosystems and ensure that no one is left behind in the digital revolution.
The NDC under Mahama wants to reform the education system. In addition to his promise to modernize the current free SHS program, Mahama promises to cut GHS2 billion in the Office of Government Machinery’s expenditure and redirect the funds to finance his “no tuition policy.” He plans to cover the tuition fees of all new entrants to public tertiary institutions (universities, colleges of education, nursing teacher training colleges, etc.) starting from the 2025-2026 academic year.
The NDC Youth Manifesto also commits to an expert-led critical evaluation of the Free SHS programme with a view to improving its implementation. The NDC aims to provide a dedicated and sustainable source of funding for the Free SHS programme.
Under an NDC government, the current dual school system of SHS would become a thing of the past. The idea is to ensure that all SHS students attend school and have holidays at the same time.
The Student Loan Trust Fund Plus (SLTF Plus) is set to be reintroduced under Mahama’s presidency to enable continuing students to access higher education without any hassle.
To support PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, the NDC also proposes free higher education for all persons with disabilities admitted to public universities.
And as part of a mission to combat the notorious “in-out-out” policy of universities, the NDC, in partnership with the private sector, aims to create accommodation facilities on the campuses of all public universities.
In addition, the NDC government led by John Mahama is seeking to abolish the entrance examinations for TRAINED TEACHERS and plans to integrate their entrance examination into the final examinations of teacher training colleges. At the same time, it wants to abolish the admission quota system for nursing and teacher training colleges in order to accommodate more students.
There is also a proposal to introduce a national apprenticeship program. The aim of this policy is to enroll young people under experienced artisans so that they can be trained in various crafts and trades for FREE. Trained apprentices will receive a certificate at the end of their training and will be supported with start-up equipment and funds to start their own business.
Other commitments include the establishment of the Adwumawura Programme, a special business creation policy aimed at facilitating the creation, support and mentoring of at least 10,000 businesses by young people per year, and the promotion of Prior Learning Certification (PLC) and Set-Up Certification (SEC) to facilitate and support artisans in the informal sector to validate and improve their skills and knowledge for academic and professional advancement.
Finally, the NDC Youth Manifesto commits to the introduction of an insurance scheme called “MO-NE-YO” to provide special retirement provision to workers in the informal sector such as professional drivers, farmers, fishermen, traders, market women and artisans, thereby improving their living conditions in retirement.
All of these are decent and exciting promises, but this youth manifesto ultimately represents a clear break from the politics as usual and represents the idea that voters want something different to differentiate the NDC from the NPP.
Clearly, the NDC is proposing to the Ghanaian youth a broader perspective on a wide range of issues to build a better, fairer Ghana where no one is held back. And where everyone can get ahead in life, be fairly paid for the work they do and live their lives with the dignity they deserve.
The Youth Wing and its Commander George Opare Addo deserve great credit for organising such an excellent event and for being the star of the 2024 campaign.
