Implications Of Rising Cases Of Corruption For The Development Of Young People In Ghana

The Foundation for Youth, Peace and Development(FYPD) wish to call the attention of the leadership and people of Ghana to the harm that the numerous cases of corruption reported since the return of the country to civilian rule in 1992, is doing to the youth of Ghana and its implication for the nation's Development.

First and foremost, the level of patriotism, as in loyalty and selfless devotion to the cause of the Nation is waning very fast among the contemporary Ghanaian youth. The majority of them are no longer prepared to serve the nation without reward, especially in monetary terms. They are not particular about the National interest and more seriously, are desperate in not only migrating to other countries but also becoming citizens of those countries with pride.

It is significant to mention that threats by players of the National Football Team,the Black Stars to boycott their final group match against Portugal in the just ended 2014 world cup,is a clear indication of how the rising cases of corruption in the country are pushing the youth to insist on their share of the National Cake before doing what could even be done purely for the love of the nation.

At the community level ,concepts such as volunteerism and communal labour, which prior to the return to multi-party politics in 1992 were very popular means of addressing community problems,do not mean anything to the youth anymore.

It is not uncommon for the contemporary youth to ask how much he or she will be paid before taking part in communal exercise.TheFYPD,on countless occasions,has been confronted with the problem of young people demanding payment before participating in Entrepreneurial and Leadership training programmes, among several others, which are clearlyprogrammesintended to build their own capacity and make them self-reliant.

The harm that the ubiquitous cases of corruption in Ghana is doing to the youth is even more serious with respect to their moral fitness.

Corruptible practices and the associated sumptuous lifestyles is encouraging many of the youth to abandon hard work as a means of achieving wealth.They are also not ready to go through processes or follow laid down procedures in the pursuit of anything.

Talent no longer mean anything to them, and many are rushing to areas where they do not belong because of the perceived riches that such areas bring.The few who are ready to pursue their God given talents are also not taking their time to develop them in order to attain excellence and reap greater rewards because, they are in hurry to make money and live like the category of Ghanaians mentioned in the above.

In other words the huge amount of money that are reported to go to individuals through corruptible activities and the opulent lifestyle that comes with it,is promoting greed among the Ghanaian youth.

They no longer regard age and Authority as respectable status, and many are beginning to wonder whether due diligence is carried out at all, before people are appointed to high offices.

There appear to be even more disturbing implications of corruptible practices for the Nation in terms of leadershipsuccession.The youth have been made to believe, that public office is a “gold mine”which anybody who desire to acquire riches must use any means necessary, to obtain.

What this means is that, in about twenty years from now Ghana will begin to have generations of leaders who are entirely concerned about their individual comfort as opposed to the common good.The implication of this for the stability of the Nation is very obvious.

Corruptible reports such as the GYEEDA debacle seem to create greater disquiet among the youth because of the direct bearing it has on their wellbeing.

Until the recent encouraging wordsof the President of the Republic His Execellency,Mr. John DramaniMahama, that came with the launch of the Youth Enterprise Fund,our encounter with many young Ghanaians indicated seething anger over what had become of arguably, the finest youth empowerment programmein the whole period of the Fourth Republican Dispensation,namely;the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Initiative

The palpable disappointment of the people about the entire GYEEDA fiasco, is the manner in which what is supposed to empower thousands of the youth,no matter how small it may be,reportedly got wasted through the action or inaction of some few Ghanaians, because of corruptible motives.

This and other reported high profile cases of corruption are increasingly creating the wrong impressions in the minds of the youth and the earlier political parties take it upon themselves,that is if they really mean to serve Ghana selflessly as it is suppose tobe,to put in place mechanisms that will prevent people with corruptible motives from assuming higher offices in the party and ultimately Government, the better it will be for thestability and progress of the nation.

Joseph M.Tetteh

Advocate of Youth Right and Peace &Founder,
FYPD e-mail:[email protected]

024-4571090