Member of Parliament for Wa West, Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh, has indicated that there is the need for the youth to be given a chance in leadership positions to exhibit their abilities and skills.
He explained that with the advancement in technology, if the youth are denied leadership roles, it would be difficult for the older ones to adapt to the new trends of technological advancement.
In an interview with ghanajustice.com in Parliament, Mr. Yieleh Chireh, pointed out that there should be a system for the youth to be interlaced with the experienced older people to draw a succession plan in areas of politics and governance.
In his statement, Mr. Yieleh Chireh added that the reason why there is no succession plan is that democracy has not been fully established to have an exit plan for the elderly and allowing the youth to succeed.
“We need a succession plan in leadership and the youth must join hands with the experienced ones as early as they can because, we have had experiences from the world, where young people have emerged as political leaders and have led countries. These young people learnt very fast”, he intimated.
Mr. Yieleh Chireh reiterated that the youth must go under a political system and rise through the ranks to sharpen their ability to perform when appointed to occupy any leadership position.
He said that the Constitution of Ghana allows the youth to contest for political leadership positions and the various political parties must give the youth such opportunities to apply their experiences.
”When I was appointed into political office, I was only 29 years tasked to start a new region. The argument about age and experience is important but to be realistic, there must be a merger of the youth and the old. If the youth are ignored, there cannot be any progress. I believe that the youth are necessary and they still have a future in our politics. The youth are also experienced and have some modicum of excellence”, he concluded.
The 1992 Constitution and age on political positions in the Legislature and Executive
Article 62 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana states ”that a person shall not be qualified for election as the President of Ghana unless –
(a) he is a citizen of Ghana by birth;
(b) he has attained the age of forty years; and
(c) he is a person who is otherwise qualified to be elected a Member of Parliament, except that the disqualifications set out in paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of clause (2) of article 94 of this Constitution shall not be removed, in respect of any such person, by a presidential pardon or by the lapse of time as provided for in clause (5) of that article”.
Article 94 in Clause (1) also stipulates ”subject to the provisions of this article, a person shall not be qualified to be a Member of Parliament unless
(a) He is a citizen of Ghana, has attained the age of twenty-one (21) years and is a registered voter;
(b) he is resident in the constituency for which he stands as a candidate for election to Parliament or has resided there for a total period of not less than five years out of the ten years immediately preceding the election for which he stands, or he hails from that constituency”.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
