The Ivorian national steering committee of the M ano River Youth Employment Programme was set up Wednesday in Abidjan, the Ivoria n capital, to facilitate youth employment in the country’s private sector.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ivorian Industry and Private Sector Promotion minister , Amah Marie Tehoua, said the programme would also enhance post-crisis reconstru c tion in Cote d’Ivoire.
“Our youth should fully play their part as stakeholders to take us out of the cr isis. The social fabric can only be strengthened if our youths are employed in i n come-generating activities,” she said.
The programme was initiated in 2007 by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United N a tions Development Programme (UNDP) and the Youth Employment Network (YEN).
It is funded to the tune of US$ 24 million over five years for all the Manor Riv er countries — Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, Moussa Dosso, the Ivorian minister of Technical Education and Vocatio nal Training, said that youth unemployment was the cause of the social crisis in
the country.
He added that the Mano River Youth Employment Programme would facilitate employm ent for young people in the region.
