The Delta Ministry of Youths Development,says it plans to spend N1. 3 billion for its Rural Youth Skill Acquisition (RYSA) programme in 2023.
The state’s Commissioner for Youths Development, Mr Ifeanyi Egwunyenga, stated this on Thursday in Asaba during the 2023 budget meeting with the State House of Assembly Committee on Youths and Sports.
Egwunyenga said that the RYSA programme, one of the flagship of the ministry, was for training and empowerment of youths across the state.
He said that since inception of the programme in the state, a total of 1567 youths have been empowered with various skills.
According to Egwunyenga, the ministry is also budgeting the sum of NN285 million for the Tertiary Institution Entrepreneurship Programme.
The commissioner said that the programme would encourage entrepreneurship development among students in the state-owned higher institutions.
0n the 2022 budget performance, Egwunyenga said that the sum of N1.5 billion and N196 million were approved for Capital projects and Non-Regular Overhead respectively for the year.
”The ministry achieved 52 per cent and and 84 per cent releases translating to N762 million and N181 million only for the Capital projects and Non-Regular Overhead respectively.
”Within the 2022 fiscal year, the ministry trained 781 youths in various skills areas through the RYSA programme.
”The ministry also organised business and life skill capacity building for 1,250 youth entrepreneurs across the state among others,” he said.
The commissioner who commended the committee for granting the ministry the audience to defend its budget, appealed for an upward review of the ministry’s budget.
He said that the upward review of the budget would enable the ministry achieve it’s 2023 objectives.
According to him, since the future of Delta is in the hands of our youths, it is important to cater for their needs.
Responding, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Fred Martins, who commended the performance of the ministry, assured of looking into its numerous requests
