President John Mahama in naming ministries his government would work with pruned the number of ministries from 30 to 23, signalling his intent to keep a lean government. In the twenty-three ministries, he decoupled youth from the Youth and Sports Ministry to create Ministry of Sports and Recreation.

I have hailed this development. President Mahama can best tell us about the wisdom behind his decision but as an observer, this is what I think. First, for decades, I do not believe any real attention has paid to the youth under the ‘Youth and Sports Ministry.

The last census put Ghana’s youth, people between ages 15 and 35 at 38 percent, big enough population yet what care has the state given to the youth in decades? Now, if there is to be a Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, my presumption is that better attention may be paid to the youth in terms of their development needs.

Recreation being added to sports means that there would be opportunities, avenues, and/or useful environments for young people especially to step away from stress into leisure focusing outdoor events ranging from sports to creative activities at parks for example, bringing a sense of belonging and fulfillment.

In our communities, I see more gambling places than recreational centres but young people who spend their energy and money on gambling, drugs, and alcohol rather than creative, mind-stirring and life-building activities through outdoor games for instance, risk having health and social problems as they grow.

Such youths cannot properly be integrated into society. Better Recreational opportunities thus facilitate growth of the mind and body. Therefore, if President Mahama’s focus is to help create, revive, and sustain recreational opportunities for young people, through the Sports and Recreation Ministry, I welcome it.

Ghana Sports already has challenges; that is problems with financing; maintenance of infrastructure, coaches’ and athletes’ training and development, integrity deficit, zero responsibility of leadership, lack of accountability, etc. These are difficulties that confront sports administration in the country. 

Whoever heads the Sports and Recreation Ministry has a lot on his plate to deal with. I can only hope that the would-be Minister of Sports and Recreation and the government give Ghanaians best of sports development and recreation.