Pius Hadzide appointed as CEO of National Youth Authority
Pius Enam Hadzide, the deputy minister of information during President Akufo-Addo’s first term in office, has been appointed to serve as the chief executive officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA).
Hadzide’s appointment is pursuant to Section 11(1) of the National Youth Authority Act 2016 (Act 939). He will replace Sylvester Matthew Tetteh, who is currently serving as a legislator in the eighth parliament of the Fourth Republic, representing Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro in the Greater Accra Region.
Hadzide is expected to bring extensive experience and his expertise as a youth worker and mobiliser as well as deputy minister in two portfolios – Youth and Sports and Information – to bear in repositioning the NYA and making its management more effective.
The NYA has as its vision “to be a statutory institution of reference in youth development service” through its mission to provide an environment for youth participation in Ghana’s cultural/socio-economic and political development using appropriate technology and working with highly motivated professionals.
The newly appointed NYA chief executive, together with his two deputies and the rest of the NYA management team, is expected to “advocate, facilitate and ensure the mainstream of youth development issues into national development frameworks, plans and programmes in all sectors, garner relevant stakeholder interest and commitment to provide the youth with opportunities for skills training, employment, and market information and design appropriate collaboration and partnerships to strengthen the link between education and diversified productivity labour markets”.
Hadzide and his team are also expected to “co-ordinate promotion of youth participation and acquisition of universal ethics in electoral democracy and governance” as well as “partner and collaborate in reduction of violence and crime among young people”.
The NYA
The National Youth Authority (NYA) was established in 1974 by NRCD 241. It is a statutory public organisation with the mandate to co-ordinate and facilitate youth empowerment activities in Ghana to ensure development of all Ghanaian youth.
The Authority was formerly known as the National Youth Council (NYC). In 1981, by an administrative directive, the Council was given “commission” status as the “National Youth Organising Commission” with the focus to organise a mass national youth movement called the Democratic Youth League of Ghana (DYLG).
With the inception of constitutional rule in 1992, the Commission reverted to being “council” status once more. Following a statute law revision exercise under the laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act 1998 (Act 562), the name of the organisation was changed to the current “National Youth Authority”.
Pius Hadzide
Honourable Pius Enam Hadzide was born on 14 June 1979. He attended Bishop Herman College in Kpando, where he earned his WASSCE certificate. After that, he attended Accra Technical University, then Accra Polytechnic, and later the University of Cape Coast.
Hadzide is also an alumnus of the Theodor Heuss Academy of Leadership in Gummersbach, Germany. He is currently studying for an LLB from the University of London.
He worked with the President’s Special Initiative on Distance Learning (PSI-DL) as subject co-ordinator for science before moving on to become a business development manager for the advertising and media buying giant Akroma Ltd. He also worked as the general manager of Ideas Advertising Ltd before venturing into politics and public service.
In 2012, Hadzide was the New Patriotic Party parliamentary candidate for Ketu North in the Volta Region.
He served briefly as a deputy communications director for the NPP before being appointed as a campaign aide to the then flagbearer and now president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in 2015.
In 2017, Pius Hadzide was named deputy minister of youth and sports. In November 2018, he was reassigned and became a deputy information minister.
