The Minority Leader of Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has warned that Ghana must urgently address its unemployment crisis to avert the dire repercussions it could bring upon the nation.
He made the call in a speech delivered at the Grand Durbar Homecoming and Handing Over Ceremony of the Asante Students’ Union (ASU) at the University of Ghana, Legon, on Sunday, August 17, 2025.
Afenyo-Markin highlighted the severity of the situation, noting that more than one in four young Ghanaians wakes up without a meaningful job, with the official unemployment rate standing at nearly 15%.
He criticised the current government for abandoning the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, which he said had been effective in creating jobs under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, particularly through tax waivers that supported industrial growth.
He cautioned that the government’s actions could prove detrimental to national development.
“Here is what this means: when governments fail to create the right economic environment to inspire the creation of new jobs, young people must innovate to create their own. When leaders won’t build opportunities, the next generation of leaders must build them from scratch. The choice is simple: either we solve this unemployment crisis, or it will solve us in ways we won’t like,” he stated.
The Minority Leader also touched on other national challenges, including the tragic loss of eight lives, three Air Force officers and five civilians, in a helicopter crash on August 6, 2025, during an anti-galamsey operation.
He urged the John Mahama administration to act with urgency to honor their sacrifice by intensifying the fight against illegal mining and preventing a future where Ghana may be forced to import water due to environmental destruction.
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