Rekindle spirit of volunteerism - Sports Minister charges youth
The Minister of Youth and Sports (MOYS), Isaac Asiamah, has charged the youth to rekindle the spirit of volunteerism in order to help boost productivity and development in the country.
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Mr Asiamah lamented that some youth are interested in instant monetary rewards whenever they are called upon to render services instead of considering whether their acts would be beneficial to society.
The Minister said this negative attitude has contributed to slowing down the development of the country and the destruction of the environment through practices such as galamsey.
Mr Asiamah made this known during a meeting with officials of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) who paid him a courtesy call on Thursday at his office in Accra.
He said, "We are encouraged that we have determined young men and women who are poised for action and are assured that this country has a brighter future.
"The youth is the bedrock of the President's transformational agenda, we have a new President who wants to transform this country and that depends on you. You are the economically active segment of the population, you are the most productive segment of the population, you have all those qualities so Ghana can count on you, we are also encouraged by the projects the JCI wants to embark upon.
"I remember at my vetting, I spoke about patriotism and volunteerism, these are key core values that are missing today. Because now, whatever a young man does he wants a monetary reward instantly and that is not how this country was built, our fore-fathers built this country through patriotism and volunteerism. So let us get back to these core values that has bought us thus far," Mr Asiamah added.
The Minister also assured the Vice President of JCI International, Reem Abdel-Hadi, of his oufit's support which he said is in line with the Private Public Partnership vision of the government.
"If we have a genuine partner like you that is prepared to support government with all these laudable projects, we will assist you in line with the National Youth Act. So, if you want to bring all these core values back we appreciate it and will support you," Mr Asiamah assured.
"I can see your organisation is also interested in protecting the environment, this brings to mind galamsey because most architects in this practice are the young people who have the ambition to develop themselves.
"We will not only drive them away from such negative practices but this government will also create opportunities for young people to get gainful employment especially in entrepreneurship".
The vice president of JCI International, Madam Abdel-Hadi had earlier informed the Minister that her outfit focuses on providing development opportunities for young people in over 120 countries to enable them become problem solvers in their societies.
She added that, the JCI, is a nonprofit organisation of young active citizens between age 18 and 40.
Also present at the meeting was the CEO of the National Youth Authority, Emmanuel Asigri, a Director of the MOYS, Dr Owusu Ansah and President of JCI Ghana, Stephen Kwaku Darku.