Foundation – FG: Redesign ITF, NDE, NAPEP to create jobs
Foundation – FG: Redesign ITF, NDE, NAPEP to create jobs
By Segun Olu, Kaduna
Executive Director, Aids Foundation, Mr. Bonnet Emmanuel has called on the Federal Government to re-evaluate and redesign intervention programmes of agencies such as Industrial Training Fund (ITF), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) to meet demand of addressing the high rate of unemployment in the country.
Mr. Emmanuel stated this during a stakeholders forum on youth employment and empowerment programmes organized by the Aids Foundation and supported by the Nigerian Stability and Reconciliation Programme held in Kaduna yesterday.
He said the redesigning of such programmes should be done in a way that it will have to show value for money and take unemployed youth off the streets and reduce number of unemployed.
Emmanuel frowned at money doled out by government to address the increasing unemployment yet no positive results to shown for it.
“ITF just told us that they trained 2million people every year and everybody open their mouth that where and who are the 2million? So, if 100million is number of young people that we have in Nigeria, if they train for only 10 years, means they are going to train about 40million people and ITF has been existing since 1971.
“So what exactly are we talking about, then I think government should redesign ITF. And redesign because they are doing a good job. The redesign will have to show value for money, so if we train we must be seeing people off the streets and hearing less people unemployed.
“If unemployment is increasing, programmes like ITF, NDE, NAPEP will need to be re-evaluated again.
“I think it is about time that the government calls for a huge stakeholder re-evaluation of different government programmes. Most of the government programmes, as I speak with you today, money is been doled out and people are been trained but it is not affecting or impacting on the communities as there are lots of unemployed youths out there. So, it means something is wrong, that something that is wrong means government should call all stakeholders together to ask fundamental questions in order to change the way things are done and to get the desired results,” he said.
On it part, Emmanuel said there is a partnership between the kaduna state government and NSRP to develop a blueprint on how to create employment and empowerment with the desire of youths taking into adequate consideration.
“We believe that government in Kaduna state and nigeria have been doing thing on adhoc basis, pay as you go. If you wake up today and you feel government should have keke napep, you will buy it. We believe that it should be borne out design and plan. This one should go for young people, and this one that is going to the young people is coming out of the desire of the young people and not you think you want to provide for them. So that’s how the blueprint will look like.
“Gracefully, there is a partnership between the NSRP and Kaduna State government in which we are piloting that has signed an MoU with Kaduna State government. And there is a technical committee to work towards that with the meeting coming up next Thursday after which the blueprint will emanate.
“The technical committee include most of the major ministries such as Ministry of Economic Planning, Finance, Women Affairs, Commerce and Industry, ITF, the special advisers, Bureau for Public Service Reform, BPSR and Aids Foundation which is the anchor in the programme. We will all look at government programmes, what has been working and how has not been working well. And there are other activities that we want to also approve the implementation for the work plan and see how its going to evolve from there.
“Today’s programme is a forum we put together to meet what we called the demand and supply side of the people living in Kaduna state and the government side (supply). We brought them together to face each other, interact and understand each other because everybody has responsibilities. It is a day they understand each other and what is expected of them and what they can do henceforth to be able to move Kaduna State forward especially as it affects youth employment and empowerment programmes,” he however said.
Posted from GoBroadsheet