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The Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, has warned politicians over the alarming rate of youth unemployment in the country.
According to him, the situation is a time bomb waiting to explode and could have serious security implications for the country.
He has, therefore, urged an all hands on deck approach from the government, public and private sectors, government agencies, Members of Parliament, MMDCEs, as well as security agencies to work towards creating jobs for the youth.
Ricketts-Hagan added that although Ghana's youth is growing at a fast pace, job opportunities are shrinking by the day. This, he noted, could be a recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.
“We cannot continue to live in a country where we as Ghanaians sit by and watch the next generation looking helpless and feeling hopeless. This situation is unacceptable and inexcusable. And we the politicians, in whom the people have put their trust for their prosperity, should be up and doing. This Government has indeed failed the nation and its youth but the rest of us cannot sit idle and watch the devaluation of our youth, to whom the country will be entrusted in the future," he said in an interview with GhanaWeb.
Reacting to the Finance Minister's claim that government's payroll was full, the legislator described the statement as "unfortunate" adding that advising the youth to venture to entrepreneurship without some form of training was not the way to go.
"It may be true that with ghost names still on our payroll, and government offices and organizations parked with cronies of the government, it will not take much to fill just under 600,000 job spaces. But for the finance minister, who should inspire the youth, to say that there is no hope for them, is unfortunate. It’s as if the government will not recruit teachers, nurses, and doctors again. Even if entrepreneurship is the way to go, and I agree, but the youth must be equipped in this technological and digital age, to take their future into their own hands and create jobs that solve society’s problems," he told GhanaWeb.
Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan