Government’s Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Mr. Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, has assured that government is addressing the issue of unemployment in the country.
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah noted that government is not oblivious of the challenges being faced by Ghanaians, as such, he intimated that efforts are underway by government to fix all other existing challenges as well.
“I have also seen that government is addressing the [issue of] unemployment. Unemployment is a major issue all around the world. Data states that by the time the continent of Africa gets to 2063, the entire world would have 1 billion young people.”
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah
According to him, with the statistics available on the expected growth across the continent, if a nation wants to prepare for the future, it needs to ensure that it is building the country in an entrepreneurial manner, a path he averred government has already taken.
“Once we are able to implement the YouStart initiative to give one million young people an opportunity to be entrepreneurial; if one person decides to employ 20 people, that gives us 20 million [employed] people.”
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah
Mr. Boakye-Danquah insinuated that the youth, on the other hand, are very prepared to ensure that government’s policies as it relates to youth entrepreneurship, comes to full materialization where many young people will have an opportunity to work.
“A country that is built on entrepreneurship is a country that is built on survival. Because, if we have many more entrepreneurs, then we have many young people that are not dependent on the already existing people that work.”
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah
Nation to bounce back better
Addressing the current state of the nation, Palgrave Boakye affirmed that government is working to ensure the nation bounces back better in the midst of the challenges being experienced as a country.
“The mood of the country at this stage is one of hope and one of purpose. We have been hit by COVID and the impact of COVID has been felt by global economies. As a country, we have put measures in place to ensure that we come out of COVID stronger and better to be able to rebuild this economy in the manner the people of the country deserve and expect.”
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah
However, the Tamale North Member of Parliament, Alhassan Suhuyini, asserted that Ghana’s current unemployment rate is close to what existed pre-independence. He stated that the rate is increasing due to the failure of the government to institute the right response to unemployment in Ghana.
Alhassan Suhuyini noted that the increasing rate of unemployment indicates that Ghanaians are saddled with extreme difficulties at the moment. He further disclosed that the unemployment situation in the country now has increased in the last five years from about 5 to almost 19 percent.
“That tells you that we are really in difficult times and the responses that we have been given over the years to the unemployment problem is not yielding the results that we all desire.”
Alhassan Suhuyini
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