A Rural Enterprise Technology Facility in Adidome of the Volta Region is drastically being underutilized as the facility faces low enrollment.
The facility, which was established in 2012, is an initiative under the Rural Enterprise Project dotted across the country to equip the youth with basic engineering and technological skills and also to improve service delivery and productivity among rural micro and small enterprises.
But the facility at Adidome in the Central Tongu District is being underused.
A visit by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Ekow Spio Garbrah, during a familiarization tour in the region, revealed that the facility which was to among other things run a three year training program for the youth, is yet to graduate a trainee.
Four of the five trainees who initially enrolled to the program dropped out along the line with many other residents unwilling to enrol.
In an interview with Citi News, the District Manager of the facility Mr. James Adeku, explained that although the facility is well-equipped with agro-processing machines and mobile welding machines that assist capital farmers in the area, the youth are unwilling to take up these skills, due to their demands for a campus accommodation and feeding grants.
The Trade Minister who said the facility is well patronized in other parts of the country bemoaned the situation in Adidome and called on the stakeholders in the district to sensitize the youth and support the operations of the facility which has potentials of developing entrepreneurial skills of the youth.
“In other regions 20, 30 people are graduating from similar facility so we are appealing to parents in the area especially those who claimed to be unemployed to consider some of these skills. The District Assembly and the Mp of the area can also use their various common funds to support the youth to enrol”.
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By: King Norbert Akpablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana