Sierra Leone News: Govt Reviews Youth Act & Policy
By Stephen V. Lansana
Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Youth Affairs has on Monday August 5, 2019, officially launched the review of the national youth policy and Youth Act, in the conference room of the Ministry of Information and Communications.
The launching was attended by senior government officials, development partners, and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The national youth policy which is reviewed every five years will reflect the new development trend and the government’s development agenda. The national youth policy will be based on the Ghana and Kenya models.
Ceebah Group of Companies, a consultancy, is overseeing the process.
The deputy Commissioner of National Youth Commission (NAYCOM), Emerson Kamara said that this is the third review of the National Youth Policy since 2003. He said that it is his hope that after this review, the outcome document will now have a comprehensive process of routine review and updating.
“Advocating for young people’s interests means that we firmly situate youth rights and youth interests in democratic governance frameworks and their components, including broader participatory structures,” he said.
“The 2030 agenda explicitly recognizes the role of young men and women as agents of change, and their critical role as those who pass on the torch to future generations in line with the SDGs main theme of sustainable development,” Kamara said. “Therefore, in moving this process forward we consider the following critical pathways: ensuring youth participation in all spheres and levels of development planning, without which positive and equitable outcomes for youth are not possible; and acknowledging the implications of intergenerational relations among youth and adults, and young people’s unique developmental rights and evolving capacities in conceiving and delivering policies and plans for them, among others.”
In his keynote address, the Minister of Youth Affairs, Mohamed O. Bangura said that the bedrock to the future of youth is human capital development. “We are here today not just to launch these two documents, but to assure you that we will do it in a more inclusive and participatory way.”
He assured that they will make sure that the voice of every youth is captured in the new policy.
He said that the review policy will produce what is needed in the 21st century for the youth of this country. He said that at least, the review process will last for one year if time permits them because they really want to make the process very inclusive.
The head of National Youth Service, Mr. Ahmed Jalloh expressed his satisfaction over the review of this policy, adding that he has immense confident in the consultant. “We believe that the review of the National Youth Policy and youth Acts will salvage the problem of young people of this country.”
The UNDP resident representative to Sierra Leone, Dr. Sam Doe said, “No time has been auspicious to young people in Sierra Leone than now. Today, we have the development programme that is centered on youths; the philosophy of the President is human capital development.”He added that in any country, it is the young people, whose human capital needs to develop, adding that over 60 percents of the population of this country is young people.
“We have a technology world that is built on youth. We are reviewing this policy today because it has come to an end,” he said, adding that UNDP is driving development on youth.
The consultant, Chernor Bah said that they will have the most extensive consultation for this process. He stated that they have engaged UNICEF to allow them use their online platform, so that the over 17, 000 youths who are at the platform will fill into the process,.
He added that they are going to create a digital platform so that young people everywhere will participate in the review. He disclosed that they have representatives from every chiefdom in the country, so that the participation of young people in the provinces will be felt.
