A Youth Advocacy Assembly held by selected youths in the Agona West Municipality has appealed to the government to urgently pass the Youth Policy Bill into law. The Assembly said the immediate passage of bill would go a long way to protect the youth against a number of challenges confronting their growth and well-being. This was contained in a speech by Master George Dawoud, who acted as the Municipal Chief Executive for the area at the first ever Youth Advocacy Assembly at Agona Swedru. The programme, which was organised by the National Youth Council (NYC) in collaboration with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) was attended by a cross-section of people including, heads of department, assembly members, parents, religious leaders and school children. It was to enable the youth to voice out their problems and challenges confronting their development for policy makers and other stakeholders to find lasting solutions to them. Key issues they deliberated on included low educational standards, child abuse and labour, drug abuse, cyber fraud, sanitation and afforestation. The Youth Assembly blamed policy makers for not putting in place enough mechanisms that could address problems confronting them. They appealed to the Agona West Municipal Assembly to enact and enforce bye-laws to restrict school children from attending cinemas during school hours and from roaming the streets after 2000 hours. Master Dawoud said the youth as future leaders must be given the requisite training that would equip them to perform creditably when the mantle of the leadership is handed over to them. Mrs Hildegared F. Brako, Agona West Municipal School Health Education Programme Co-coordinator, commended the organizers of the programme and the youth for their wonderful presentation, urging them to keep it up. Mr Ernest Amoako, Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at the NYC Headquarters, expressed gratitude to the UNFPA for empowering the council to guide and direct the youth. Source: GNA