President John Dramani Mahama has appointed Malik Basintale as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).
Mr. Basintale is currently the NDC’s deputy national communications officer. He will officially assume office on Monday, January 27, 2025.
His appointment follows the resignation of Kofi Baah Agyepong, who stepped down to focus on personal commitments and aspirations.
Kofi Baah Agyepong, served as YEA CEO for two years. In resigning, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to tackle youth unemployment.
Agyepong described his tenure as both an honor and a privilege in his resignation letter to the President.
The new appointee, Malik Basintale, thank President John Dramani Mahama with a post on X. The post read, “Thank you, Mr. President, H.E John Dramani Mahama. We shall not fail you.”
This leadership change at YEA aligns with broader shifts in state-owned agencies after the December 7 Presidential Election.
About YEA
The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) began as the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) in 2005 to address rising youth unemployment, which posed a potential threat to national security. It was officially inaugurated in October 2006 and operated under the Office of the President without legal backing.
In 2012, the government rebranded and repositioned the agency as the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) to better serve unemployed youth. Despite its migration into the public service, the agency still lacked the necessary legal framework to support its operations.
Management worked with stakeholders to draft a bill, which Parliament passed in February 2015 as the Youth Employment Agency Act (Act 887). The President assented to the bill in March 2015, providing the agency with a much-needed legal foundation.
In 2016, the Youth Employment Agency Regulations (L.I. 2231) were passed, gazetted in February, and became effective in May.
