Ministry of Youth and Sports (Ghana)

History

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has since the first Republic undergone several changes in its structure and functions to reflect the policy directions of the incumbent Government. In 1978 the Ministry was re-designed for only sports headed by a Commissioner for Sports, who was directly responsible to the then Head of State of the Republic.

In the year 2005, the Ministry was merged with the Ministry of Education to form the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. A year later the Youth and Sports segment of this Ministry were separated. The Sports segment was combined with Education and Science to form the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports whilst the Youth segment was merged with Employment and Manpower Planning to form the Ministry of Employment, Youth and Manpower Planning.

The Government in January 2009, decided to re-establish the Ministry to represent an emergent trend, among countries worldwide, particularly in the Commonwealth Nations, which acknowledges the inherent advantages in the natural affinity between Youth and Sports as an instrument for national development.

The Ministry as it stands now implements its goals and objectives through the following Agencies and Institutions:

Minister of Sports

MANDATE

By the Civil Service Law, Act 327 of 1993, the Ministry of Youth and Sports exists to formulate Youth and Sports policies; monitor and evaluate policy implementation to achieve national integration and international recognition; promote youth empowerment and self-development; and provide enabling environment for sports development, organization and promotion.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Mission Statement of the Ministry is: “The creation of an enabling environment for effective development of the youth and sports sectors through policy formulation, co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation and the facilitation of the provision of facilities”.

VISION

The Ministry of Youth and Sports envisions enhancing the national consciousness of the youth through effective mobilization, empowerment, education and training. It also envisions a sustained and systematic development and promotion of approved and recognized sports at both the national and international levels to foster cohesion, enhance health fitness, and promote friendship with the comity of nations.

FUNCTIONS OF THE MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORTS

Basically, the Ministry derives its broad functions from section 13 of PNDCL 327 of 1993 which states, inter alia, that: A Ministry shall:

In furtherance of the above, the Ministry:

1. The National Sports Authority (NSA)
2. The National Youth Authority (NYA)
3. The National Sports College (NSC, Winneba)

Agencies under the Ministry

The Ghanaian Ministry of Youth and Sports is responsible for four agencies:

The mandate of the National Sports Council is to function as an umbrella organization under which various sports association operate. It was formed in 1976. The council develops, organizes and manages competitive and non-competitive sports to promote national cohesion and professionalism in various Ghanaian activities. The National Youth Council is a government agency established in 1974 to organize and promote youth development programmes in the country.

The National Sports College was built in 1984 in Winneba in the Central region. The college was established by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government to promote various sporting disciplines to international levels. At the college's establishment Ghanaian sportsmen were not performing as expected at international competitions. A reason for the college's establishment was to improve the competitiveness of sportsmen in the country. The function of the college is to train and re-train the country’s technical and human resource in various sporting disciplines.