Minority Leader of Parliament Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin wants Ghanaian youths to resist corruption and resist division, calling on them to embrace a new era of administration founded on integrity, unity and accountability.
"I urge you to resist corruption and resist division whenever you encounter them.". When you choose unity over division, you are strengthening the social bonding that unites our nation. When you speak out against nepotism and discrimination, you send a strong signal that your generation won't tolerate practices that put Ghana in chains," Mr Afenyo-Markin reminded students of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), on Friday at the second leg of the launch of the Young Commons Forum (YCF).
The forum, which began at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, would be replicated in all tertiary institutions across the country. Its general objective is to close the gap between practice and knowledge, and build the next generation of leaders and make them marketable. The Winneba edition was held under the theme: “Our leader, our mentor, our protector.” A six-member interim executive committee of the YCF, led by its president Emmanuel Osei, was also inaugurated.
The Effutu MP, who is also the Minority Leader, urged students to live out the values of transparency and honesty in all aspects of their lives. “If you’re a student leader, be transparent with your colleagues. If you're a community project volunteer, follow through. If you're doing national service, do it with everything you've got. If you have a small business, be truthful to your customers," he emphasized that responsibility must become a common value in practice.
He emphasized that education alone was not enough to unlock the full potential of the young and that education needed to be followed by policies that empowered them and opened opportunities. "Youth empowerment must not stop in the classroom; it must be followed by purposeful action that creates opportunities and smashes barriers," he added.
Mr Afenyo-Markin proposed an overhauled curriculum that includes project-based learning to address actual-world community issues, communication opportunities, cooperation, international exposure, and experiential civic engagement. "Leadership emanates from character, vision, and the capacity to mobilize others into constructive action," he noted.
Highlighting the future of employment, he emphasized that Ghana should invest in technology, digital innovation, manufacturing, and value addition. He called for enhanced collaboration between the government and private sector to provide an environment where ideas could thrive. "This entails investment in research and development, availing capital for young entrepreneurs, and incentivizing innovation rather than stifling it," he emphasized.
Jumping into politics, Mr Afenyo-Markin asked for an end to the "You do me, I do you" political harassment game that he asserted was derailing national development. "Sometimes we think that by bringing down our political opponents we would become more popular. It ends up stalling the country," he warned.
He also urged the youth to hold leaders accountable, and be accountable themselves. "Do not abuse sponsorship for business reasons, since by doing that you rob the next generation of a chance," he warned.
The event was chaired by a UEW lecturer, Mr Eric Nketia, who spoke about the effects of mentorship on leadership and appealed to existing leadership to seek out and develop young people in their localities to lead the future.