A. THE BUSINESS CASE FOR GYEEDA

In 2006, the National Security Council recommended the establishment of the National Youth Employment Programme to reduce increasing unemployment and under employment among the youth. The situation of massive youth unemployment was considered to be a national security threat. At the time, about 26% of Ghana's population was made up of largely unemployed youth.

The problem of youth unemployment for Ghana persisted in spite of several efforts and interventions made by successive Governments to address unemployment and underemployment. These initiatives included the Skills Training and Employment Placement (STEP) Programme, the Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI), the introduction of the Technical, Vocational and Education Testing (TVET) Policy and the institution of various micro-credit schemes to support small-scale enterprises. There appeared therefore, to be a justifiable rationale for the establishment of the NYEP.

GYEEDA did not start with an instrument of inception when the Programme commenced in 2006. Cabinet discussed and gave approval for the commencement of the Programme after identifying sources of funding such as the District Assemblies Common Fund, the Road Fund, the National Health Insurance Fund and the Communication Service Tax. Hence the refrain generally heard that NYEP commenced only with a "Cabinet fiat." The failure of Cabinet in 2006 to ensure that NYEP took off within the framework of a rigorous legal cover taking into account the expansive nature of its programmes was without foresight. This is the case particularly, as new structures such as the District Employment Task Forces (DELTA Force) and the National Employment Task Force (NET Force) were introduced into the existing Public Sector institutional framework.

The laws setting up these sources of funding, for instance, the District Assemblies Common Fund Act, 1994 (Act 455) were not amended to cater for the financial needs of the Programme. The manpower to manage the Programme was not recruited through the regular public sector recruitment processes. Therefore, NYEP staff did not have appointment letters. In addition, SPs were not competitively recruited. These among several other factors did not set the right foundation for a smooth take off of an otherwise laudable initiative with a very strong business case.

In 2012, following a series of discussions aimed at making NYEP more effective and responsive to the employment needs of the youth, Cabinet gave approval, on 1 November, 2012, to re-name NYEP the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA). GYEEDA is expected to coordinate all youth employment and entrepreneurial programmes. The process of restructuring the organization is ongoing as of June 2013, and this Impact Assessment and Review exercise is opportune to the extent that it may contribute to the completion of the process. At the time of the Committee's work, GYEEDA has implemented about 34 modules. The following are yet to be fully operational: Youth in Construction, Youth in Guinea Fowl Rearing, Youth in Para-Legal Services, and Youth in Driving.