Afenyo-Markin advises youth to act responsibly when offered opportunities

Minority Leader in Parliament and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo Markin, has urged Ghanaian youth to take personal responsibility for creating and sustaining opportunities after completing their education.

He also cautioned that some young people misuse the very opportunities designed to support and empower them.

Speaking as the keynote speaker at the Beyond the Degree Conference 2026, Afenyo Markin acknowledged that the limited availability of opportunities remains a genuine national challenge but insisted that another issue must be confronted openly.

“Political leaders must be prepared to speak truth to power and also speak truth to our own people. I say this without fear of contradiction: one of the growing concerns in our country today is the abuse of opportunities by some of the very youth these interventions are meant to empower,” he said.

Reflecting on development initiatives he has implemented in his Effutu constituency since 2013, Afenyo Markin highlighted several programmes aimed at equipping young people with skills and tools for self reliance. These initiatives include the distribution of more than 10,000 industrial and hand sewing machines, scholarship support for students, apprenticeship training in trades such as tiling, carpentry and tailoring, as well as the provision of vehicles and tricycles under work and pay arrangements.

He explained that the programmes were intended to provide practical skills and economic independence for young people. However, he expressed concern that some beneficiaries had failed to make good use of the opportunities.

“Some of the sewing machines provided to start livelihoods were sold. Some apprentices abandoned their training halfway. In some cases, some simply lost interest in the very opportunities that were meant to transform their lives,” he noted.

Afenyo Markin also spoke about the broader employment challenges facing young people in Ghana, pointing out that the number of available formal jobs remains limited.

“In my office alone, I have over 2,000 CVs of young people seeking employment,” he said.

He stressed that academic certificates alone do not guarantee success and urged young people to embrace entrepreneurship, innovation, practical skills and civic responsibility as pathways to building sustainable livelihoods.

According to him, the future of the youth depends not only on access to opportunities but also on discipline, commitment and responsible decision making.