John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has voiced his concerns regarding the alarming surge in unemployment rates in Ghana.
Recent data released by the Ghana Statistical Service revealed a notable increase, with unemployment rates soaring by 14.7 percent.
Addressing supporters during his Building Ghana Tour in Accra, Mahama emphasized the urgent need for the establishment of sustainable employment opportunities.
He highlighted the disproportionate impact on tertiary-educated individuals, who constitute a significant portion of the unemployed population.
Mahama stressed the need for the incoming government to prioritize the implementation of policies aimed at fostering genuine and sustainable job creation.
He criticized the prevalence of temporary employment initiatives, such as NABCo, which he said has failed to provide a lasting solution to unemployment.
“To have that 14.7% unemployment rate, tertiary-trained graduates are a bigger chunk than those below secondary and basic education, and so it is something that we need to look at. And so the next government’s major focus must be putting in policies that will create jobs, jobs, and jobs. And these should not be artificial jobs like we normally do; you do NABCo and you know that you have no sustainable place to put them after the three years when they graduate from NABCo, and yet, it is just done to win political points.
“[Government claims it has] given 100,000 young people jobs, and now when they finish the NABCo and you owe them nine months’ allowance arrears, and the government is refusing to pay them. And so we must aim more at sustainable jobs. And we can’t get those sustainable jobs in many places, including the agricultural value chain.”