Calls for strict enforcement of statutory funding for youth development agencies in Ghana have reached Parliament, as concerns mount over persistent underfunding of the National Youth Authority (NYA) and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).
Dr. Mahama Tiah Abdul-Kabiru, Member of Parliament for Walewale, raised the issue on Thursday, March 12, urging the government and Ministry of Finance to ensure compliance with legal provisions requiring 5% of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to be allocated to the NYA and 10% to the YEA.
The intervention follows advocacy efforts by YEFL-Ghana, a youth-focused NGO based in Tamale, which has been monitoring DACF disbursements through its “Follow the Money” campaign under the Empowerment for Life Programme. The campaign tracks allocations to youth institutions between 2017 and 2025 and has consistently highlighted discrepancies between statutory provisions and actual disbursements.
Dr. Abdul-Kabiru noted that the NYA and YEA had received far less than their legal entitlements over recent years. Between 2020 and 2024, the NYA averaged 2.8% of its expected allocation, while the YEA received 5.8%. The situation worsened in the first quarter of 2025, when both agencies received only 0.6% of their statutory funding.
“The decline in funding undermines youth empowerment initiatives and limits the ability of these institutions to address pressing challenges like unemployment, lack of technical skills, and limited access to entrepreneurial support,” Dr. Abdul-Kabiru stated. He cited Ghana Statistical Service data showing that roughly 72.4% of the 1.3 million unemployed persons in the third quarter of 2023 were youths aged 15 to 35.
The MP called for predictable, timely financing to ensure youth programs, including skills training and entrepreneurship initiatives, can be effectively implemented nationwide. He also urged the DACF Secretariat and Ministry of Finance to engage Parliament’s Youth and Sports Select Committee to investigate funding shortfalls and recommend measures to restore full compliance in the next national budget cycle.
YEFL-Ghana has additionally proposed an interim increase in DACF allocations from 1.2% to 2.5% to youth agencies where immediate full compliance is not feasible, reinforcing the NGO’s ongoing push for enhanced youth development financing.
