It is an irrefutable fact that the strength and future prospects of every nation in the world, to a very large extent, depend on its youthful population, which forms the largest workforce.
Issues affecting the youth and their general wellbeing remain a topmost priority for all governments here in Africa and across the globe. However, it doesn’t appear that Ghana belongs to that comity of nations because evidence on the ground does not suggest that our government is serious about matters of the youth
It is unfathomable to observe that Ghana, a country that prides itself as the gateway to Africa is rather the nation that is doing very little in this regard.
Now, more than ever, if you went out to ask any youth of our country about their number one challenge, they would surely talk about the prevailing unemployment conundrum, which unfortunately, continues to get worse every passing moment.
In fact, the menacing effect of youth unemployment is not only a deleterious social canker but also a threat to national and international security especially on the African continent. It therefore means that African governments must, as a matter of urgency, confront this issue with all the alacrity that it deserves before it explodes.
If for nothing at all, the recent uprising in some Arabian countries here in Africa, otherwise known as the Arab Spring should teach us some relevant lessons that the youth cannot always be taken for granted.
Inasmuch as I am NOT calling for youth revolution in Ghana, I am however very saddened and petrified to observe that the current levels of disillusionment, hopelessness and desperation of the Ghanaian youth are worse than the conditions that precipitated the infamous Arab Spring.
Not only are we (the youth of Ghana) unable to find jobs to do but also have our plight aggravated by the prevailing draconian living conditions in the country under this administration in particular. Unfortunately, President John Mahama, who claims to be one of us, together with his NDC government remains clueless and unmoved by the loud cry of the teeming youth of our country.
It is worth making the point that the erstwhile NPP government, upon realizing the gravity of this national canker, implemented, for the first time in the country’s history, a major employment intervention dubbed, the National Youth Employment Program (NYEP) with the primary aim of arresting the age-long unemployment menace bedeviling the nation.
This laudable program at the time; provided several job opportunities to thousands of the teeming youth to work in the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy to earn a living for themselves and their families.
Fast forward to the current NDC regime, it is regrettable to note that this hitherto; vibrant employment enterprise has transmogrified into GYEEDA, which later became arguably, the most corrupt institution in the country; where several millions of the taxpayers’ money were siphoned to enrich party apparatchiks and foot soldiers for no work done. No wonder it became synonymous to corruption, compelling government to run away from the name, GYEEDA to YEA, which is equally fraught with corruption.
The collapsing state of this major program has only exacerbated the unemployment crisis in the country because beneficiaries of this program are now rendered JOBLESS.
It is even more pathetic to note that the Labor Minister is on record to have said that government has no statistics on unemployment in the country. So it shouldn’t surprise you that he and his government appear clueless on how to address this challenge. How do you expect a government that has little or no knowledge about the severity of a problem to enact pragmatic policies to solve the problem?
It has always been lies and propaganda as far as they are concerned. Consistently, we are being fed with DIFFERENT FIGURES about the number of jobs that government has created over the years by the president himself as well as his Ministers.
Students, especially those at the nation’s tertiary institutions (many of whom fall within the youth bracket) are also not spared by government’s incompetent handling of youth matters. Cost of education has become so unbearable for students at all levels. To add insult to injury, government is also gradually withdrawing all forms of subsidies (including the age-long subsidies on utilities) at the various levels of education, especially in the tertiary institutions, whilst at the same time, imposing taxes on cost of education
Here, mention can be made of the killer 25% corporate tax slapped on private universities. Also, the idea of cost sharing in our schools is fast paving way for a cost-shifting regime under this government, where students are gradually being compelled to bear the full cost of their education and training even in the public schools
So I ask, what at all is government’s obligation as far as the provision of education is concerned?
Meanwhile, government is enjoined by the provisions in the 1992 constitution of Ghana under the Directive Principles of State Policy to make education progressively free up to the tertiary level so that same is seen as a RIGHT rather than a privilege or the preserve of the rich. By these provisions, government is supposed to prioritize investments into the education sector and also make it accessible and affordable to the ordinary Ghanaian. However, the exact opposite is what we see today.
Many students are now compelled to drop out of school because they are unable to cope with the prevailing astronomical fees regime. In the rare occasions, where some students are able to cope with all these enervating hustles and complete successfully, their woes are not over yet, as they are churned out into a future of uncertainty and hopelessness because they can’t find jobs in the economy.
Today, the issue of graduate unemployment is the major worry of students at the nation’s tertiary institutions especially those in the final year.
Each year, over 76,000 graduates or national service personnel are deployed to various institutions for mandatory national service duties. My major worry is about the future of these personnel (graduates) after the one-year mandatory service because they cannot be absorbed in the public sector due to this cancerous policy of the government.
If the nation’s graduates cannot find jobs to do, then what becomes of the ‘less educated’?
Unfortunately, the private sector, which now becomes our last resort, is also dying because of the intractable energy crisis, draconian taxes slapped on businesses and the collapsing economy leading to several job-cuts every now and then.
So where do the graduates go after national service? The private sector, just like the public sector, is a “no go area”. No wonder there exists an Association of Unemployed Graduates, which is now gaining ‘notorious fame’ under this government.
From the foregoing, the inevitable conclusion that can be drawn is that the youth of this country have been greatly short-changed by our government. I wish to conclude by adding my voice to the countless calls on the government of President Mahama, our one and only “youthful president” as he claims, to as a matter urgency, prioritize the concerns of the youth because we are the only hope and future of this country.
All we demand of government is to provide us (the youth) an opportunity to develop our potential through the provision of affordable and accessible quality education; an opportunity to work in our country after obtaining the relevant knowledge and skills, and ultimately, an opportunity to contribute significantly towards national growth and development for God and country.
So even as we deride the less than par performance from the recent WASSCE results, we urge students to join in the argument on the term period for transporting from the three-year SHS to a four year.
But careful what you ask for. The world is not pleasant beyond SHS.
Ghana, Aha a y? din papa. Alius atrox week advenio. Another terrible week to come!
By Iddi Muhayu-Deen and Sydney Casely-Hayford
thenewghanaian@gmail.com