By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
The Minister of Youths Affairs, Mohamed Orman Bangura has disclosed government’s plan to provide over 400 rickshaw locally called kekkeh on loan to young people,with the initial rollout of 100.
The minister was speaking at the weekly press briefing of the Ministry of Information and Civic Education hosted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Freetown on 14th May, 2024.
He explained how he wants to achieve the agreement he signed with President Julius Maada Bio in the 2024 Performance Contract. He said the ministry’s aim is to make available skills training to one thousand five hundred youths, provide grants to one thousand young people, ensure youths participate in governance, with seventy thousand more to be empowered in different fields.
Speaking about projects at the National Youth Commission (NYC), Bangura disclosed how the Productive Social Safety Net and Youth Empowerment will provide over eight thousand jobs for youths, adding that the project is not limited to training but also provision of cash that will generate revenue for young people. “We have built a modernized skills training center at Mile 31 and it is well equipped,” he said, adding they will ensure that 400 youths will be paid during the course of their training at the facility. “No Sierra Leonean has ever questioned the integrity of NYC. Every young person that applied over the last five years was approved and accepted for work,” he added.
On the Youth Enterprise Fund, the minister said will more loans will be given to youths.
He further pointed out how their government will be giving fifty fishing boats to young people at the end of this May which he noted will provide one thousand jobs.
He claimed how the Youth Ministry in past has never had a data on the status of young people in the country, but that he has created one embedded in the Status of Youth Report, which he according to him will contain information on youths in every village, chiefdom and district across the country. “As at now, we have recruited three international consultants and we have a consortium of local consultants to ensure that they give us this solid document that will pass the test of time,” he emphasised.
He recalled last year how they provided a number of kekehs to youths and were able to get over 80% loan recovery from them.“
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