President John Dramani Mahama has decided to split the Ministry of Youth and Sports to address sports and youth issues separately.
During his 2024 election campaign, Mahama pointed out that combining the two areas under one ministry has often left the youth neglected, limiting the ministry’s effectiveness.
He explained that creating a separate ministry for the youth would allow more focus on their needs and ensure attention across all sectors of the economy to benefit them.
Mahama highlighted that this move would help introduce strategies to create more job opportunities for the youth and improve their livelihoods.
“We’re going to separate youth from sports because it’s a youth and sports ministry. However, over the years, the focus has been solely on sports, and even then, only on the Black Stars.
“My vision for this ministry is to mainstream youth interests in all sectors of the economy. It will focus on mainstreaming youth interests and concentrate on rolling out strategies to create jobs for young people,” he said.
Mahama fulfilled his promise by separating the ministry into the Youth Development and Empowerment Ministry and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation.
About the separation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports
President John Dramani Mahama has announced the separation of the Youth and Sports Ministry as part of efforts to reduce the number of ministries in his government.
In a directive issued on January 11, 2024, the Mahama-led administration split the ministry into two separate entities: the Youth Development and Empowerment Ministry and the Sports and Recreation Ministry.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports has been a combined institution since 1981, originally called the PNDC Secretary for Youth and Sports. It became a full ministry in 1993 when Ghana returned to constitutional rule under the late President Jerry John Rawlings.
The late Enoch Teye Mensah, a former Member of Parliament, was the first to serve as Minister for Youth and Sports.