The Minority in Parliament has slammed the government led by President John Dramani Mahama over what it describes as a complete abandonment of youth development over failure to allocate funds to the National Youth Authority (NYA) in the 2026 financial year.
According to the Caucus, this development signals a worrying shift from sustained support to neglect.
Addressing the media in Parliament on Thursday, the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo and Ranking Member on the Youth and Sports Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, lamented that from sustained support to complete abandonment is the reality.
“A programme without a functioning institution is nothing more than an announcement,” he stated.
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According to Assafuah, the NYA has received no allocation from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for 2026, despite an overall increase in the fund from GH¢7.5 billion to GHS 8.7 billion.
He argued that this contradicts provisions under the National Youth Authority Act, which mandates that 5% of the DACF be allocated to the Authority.
“The question is, where are the priorities of government? At a time when the National Youth Authority cannot fund its basic operations, we are confronted with troubling realities,” he said.
The MP outlined a steady decline in funding to the Authority over the years, culminating in what he described as a shocking zero allocation in 2026.
He noted that allocations dropped from over GH¢70 million between 2017 and 2019 to GH¢14.8 million in 2025, before hitting zero this year.
“These are not just numbers. They represent opportunities, training, coordination, and hope for young people across the country,” he stressed.
Assafuah also questioned the government’s decision to allocate approximately GH¢10 million to the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) administration at the headquarters level, instead of channeling resources into youth development.
“How do you prioritise administrative spending over youth empowerment? That GH₵10 million could have been used to support young people,” he argued.
The Minority warned that the funding gap would have far-reaching consequences, including stalled youth centres, discontinued programmes, and lost opportunities for young people.
“The cost of these decisions will not be felt in budgets. It will be felt in the lives of young people,” Assafuah cautioned.
He added that several youth infrastructure projects initiated under former President Nana Akufo-Addo risk being abandoned due to lack of funding.
The Ranking Member is calling for urgent interventions to address the situation, including the immediate restoration of funding to the National Youth Authority from the District Assemblies Common Fund, the release of outstanding funds to support its administrative and operational functions, enhanced transparency in the allocation and disbursement of resources, strengthened parliamentary oversight to ensure compliance with statutory provisions, and a renewed commitment to prioritising youth development in national budgeting processes.
Assafuah described the situation as a betrayal of Ghana’s youth, stressing that government cannot claim to believe in the youth while steadily withdrawing the support needed to empower the. “This is a generational betrayal,” he declared.