A powerful delegation from European Union has paid an official visit to the hub of No Business as Usual which is located within Asokore municipality in Ashanti region.
The EU delegation which was led by Madam Diana Acconcia, EU Ambassador to Ghana made the courtesy call to witness the progress of the project and also to have a hearing of the impact made since its implementation.
Other EU officials making up the delegation were the head of Governance Section at EU Maria-Luisa Troncoso; Team leader for Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti Corruption Program (ARAP) Anna Maria Sanchez; ARAP key Expert, Rule of Law- Tuinese Amuzu; ARAP Program Officer Seyram Agbemenya and Juan Marano who is the finance Officer for ARAP.
The visit was tinted with a colourful round table dialogue with implementors of the project and the touring of the various facilities of the hub such as the exhibition centre, training centre and departmental offices.
Present during the visit was the Municipal Chief Executive Officer Hon Alidu Seidu.
In a brief meeting with the delegation, the Project Coordinator Madam Esther Matey highlighted the purpose of the project plus other indelible achievements chopped within the space of two years.
Per the content of a power-point presentation done during the meeting by NBU Project Coordinator, 56 youth have so far secured employment while 31 are operating their own start-ups.
204 youth she disclosed have been trained in digital literacy skills and have in turn applied the acquired knowledge in the running of their respective start-ups.
Through social accountability and transparency tools workshop organised for officials from Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly, the assembly according Madam Esther Matey has been able to create a website (www.amma.gov.gh) for the public to access information and that CSOs unlike before have succeeded in forming a unified front to champion and voice out their concerns and demand transparency and accountability from local officials.
“The NBU Project since its implementation has encouraged increased involvement of CSOs in AMMA’s planning, implementation and monitoring activities”, she informed.
Though the project aims at training 500 youth of Asokore Mampong within the space of four years, she made an optimistic projection that approximately 2000 youth can be trained under the project if it (NBU Project) had a life span exceeding four years.
Sharing her impression in an interview with the media, the EU Ambassador Diana Acconcia applauded implementors of the project over the impact made and again challenged them to carry on with the good work.
European Union she announced has as its priority the development and empowerment of the youth and that EU wants to see the creation of sustainable jobs that can improve the lives of the youth in Africa.NBU project is a collaborative project of SOS CV Ghana,AMMA with support from the European Union
Source: Thepressradio.com / Enock Akonnor
