GHANA
GHANA’ S jobless generation
Economists and development economists are increasingly getting worried at the large numbers of young people jamming the job market in search for non-existing jobs
The Biblical warning that idle hands are the devil’ s workshop is true today, as it was in the olden days. In today’ s globalised world, youth unemployment has become political, as well as an economic challenge. In fact so threatening is the issue of youth joblessness to the political and economic stability of any country that it calls for continuous evaluation of public policy aimed at redirecting attention to it.
As a development and public policy analyst, I am compelled to once again draw attention of duty bearers to youth joblessness in Ghana and highlight its current and future repercussions for Ghana. Earlier in the year, I did a similar article in this column titled“ Youth development as a catalyst for economic development”, in which I used a lot of development economics literature to make a strong case that any country that fails to develop the capabilities of its youth faces a bleak future.
The first article pointed out that a youth that lacks education, entrepreneurial skills and income security, is a youth that could easily become a willing tool for destabilizing their country. And this is evident from the fact that the youth have become the willing tools for all terrorist attacks and activities across Africa.
A YOUTH THAT LACKS EDUCATION, ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS AND INCOME SECURITY, IS A YOUTH THAT COULD EASILY BECOME A WILLING TOOL FOR DESTABILIZING THEIR COUNTRY
In the first article I quoted UN- FPA as saying that adolescents and youth, who constitute a large part of the populations of developing countries, like Ghana have a profound effect on every nation’ s common future for bad or for worse. The effects can be overwhelmingly positive if young people are able to develop their capabilities, have access to education, health( including reproductive and sexual health) and find opportunities to fulfill the promises of their lives through decent employment. UNFPA argues that using the youth to transform our economy is possible provided there is heavy investment in young
2016 | Business Times Africa 53