Itaki replaces Akia as new acting executive director

THE National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) has a new acting executive director.
Department of Personnel Management has confirmed the appointment of Joe Itaki as the acting executive director yesterday, replacing Reuben Akia, who has been acting since last year.
Itaki’s appointment was gazetted on March 28 with the handover yesterday.
Itaki, from Wapenamanda in Enga, has 16 years of service in Government.
He held senior positions from executive manager to the office of secretary to acting secretary community development in the Department of Youth Religion and Community Development before taking his current position.
Itaki recently attained a Master’s degree in public administration from Korea.
“As I take up the office, one of my immediate priorities is to align the work plan of the NYDA to the ministry’s flagship programme in the district community development centres,” he said.
“Youth programmes will now be visible in the districts through this intervention.”
Itaki thanked Akia for the leadership he provided in the office over the past 13 months.
“I will begin from where you (Akia) are now leaving, so that the programmes and activities for youth development would be effectively directed towards producing outcomes for them,” he said.
“Youths are our future,” Itaki said.
“We need to recognise and prominently feature and empower them so that they could, in turn, meaningfully contribute to the development of our country.”