INVITATION TO JOIN FACEBOOK FOR ACTIVISM

The Unemployed Graduate Returnees Association of Ghana (UGREA) wishes to inform the general public that it has opened a Facebook page for action and activism among all unemployed returnees. This is a non-political, non-religious, and non-ethnic group that is seeking the welfare and protection of all qualified Ghanaian returnees across the nooks and crannies of this country. It intends to employ activism to compel government (whether NDC, NPP, or CPP or whichever party is power) to consider and appropriately declare the unemployment situation in the country as a crisis situation, so that urgent and concerted efforts can be made to avert a looming social unarrest in Ghana.

This invitation is being extended to you on the heels of a submission by the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr. E.T. Mensah to the effect that the his ministry has no data or statistics on the job creation or unemployment in the country. To add insults to injury, his ministry does not have a labor economist who could help put together data on the employment and unemployment situation in the country.

We are aware of Ghanaians with such qualifications as labor economics and other statistics related qualifications who are performing menial jobs in the diaspora because they do not have friends and relatives in government who can hold their hands to a job offer. It was so shameful to hear the incompetent minister talk about job creation on the floor of parliament.

The association is interested in your stories of job search and attempts to reintegrate in the Ghanaian society. We have heard too many horrible stories of people in responsible positions channeling job opportunities to friends and relatives. This defeats the idea of competition which should determine who occupies where. Envy, fear, and ignorance reigns supreme in most public institutions where managers are either scared of being replaced by more knowledgeable returnees or being bypassed by these energetic young men and women. Therefore, they go all lengths to frustrate some of these energetic young people who braved the storms abroad to acquire knowledge needed for development. There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that most of the emerging economies did not just emerged out of the blues, they have been able to make the strides they have made as a results of the input of new ideas from their students who studied abroad and returned home with new ideas to reposition their economies. But in Ghana, the returnee is more of a threat than a welcome reformer, and must be frustrated until his energy sags and he cannot take it anymore.

Today, Facebook has offered us the opportunity to band together and share our stories and use these stories as a rallying point for activism for change. This country cannot continue to be run like a village where managers in her banking industry recruit from their own chambers before jobs adverts are placed publicly as a façade. The civil service cannot be managed like someone's personal property and we can allow contracts to be awarded to friends and families without going through the dues bidding process.

There is no shame in not having a job in Ghana. If you do not have a job, you simply do not have a job. Let us hear your job hunt stories and experiences. Be ready to attend meetings and help in mobilizing people around this cause. When both the NPP and the NDC fail, the only way forward is activism. People, let's start the people's revolution to rescue our dear country. Go to Facebook and look for 'Unemployed Returnees” and let's get something started immediately.

UGREA, Forum Coordinator
James Duffor
[email protected]