GYEEDA launches youth-in-driving module

The module operates a “work and pay” system where beneficiaries are given brand new taxi cabs free to work and pay for within a period of two and a half years.

The beneficiaries under the “Youth in Driving” module are trained and equipped with driving skills as a means to earn regular income to support their families.

Speaking with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mr Ruben Adjei, the National Cor-ordinator of “Youth in Driving”, said the module formed part of the government’s efforts to give skills to the teeming unemployed youth to contribute significantly to the economic development of the country.

Mr Adjei said apart from employment, the “Youth in Driving” module was also to enhance urban road transport through the provision of safe and affordable transport services for Ghanaians.

He said as part of the requirements for the module, selected beneficiaries underwent intensive practical and theoretical training, after which they were given the taxi cabs to work with.

He said the module had come to help address the numerous challenges faced by taxi drivers at the hands of their car owner, as well as provide safe and affordable transport services for Ghanaians.

“Private car owners are often fond of giving second-hand cars to taxi drivers to work and pay for. However, by the time they finish paying, the cars are left in very bad state, resulting in frequent breakdowns,” Mr Adjei said.

He also identified poor incomes, verbal abuse and misunderstanding due to poor daily sales and car maintenance as forms of humiliation suffered by taxi drivers at the hands of their car owners.

He noted that the module was timely and indicated the government’s understanding and appreciation of the need to create more sustainable jobs in the transport sector for the youth.

He said the government recognised the difficulty drivers faced in raising about GH¢20,000 to purchase cars to work with and that was why it had stepped in as a guarantor to enable drivers to afford their own cars at the shortest time.

The module is currently being run on a pilot basis in the Greater Accra Region and will be scaled up to cover more regions by the end of 2013.

Story by Justice Baidoo