Can any president solve Ghana's unemployment ?

Unemployment problem in Ghana has become so difficult to solve in recent times that whoever wants to win the mandate of the citizenry as the president through the ballot box uses it as key propaganda machinery against the sitting government.

Using it as propaganda in electioneering campaigns has been successful to some political parties whose leaders claim pulled a lot of votes for their party as against incumbent governments or party in power.

Other political hawks have also admitted that using it as propaganda did not work to perfection for them because the people realized it was a global problem and that Ghana was not the only country suffering from that canker.

Many promises were given to solve the unemployment situation after petitions have been presented to various past governments calling on it to put mechanisms in place to solve the canker. But as to whether those governments made any effort in solving the canker, the indications are there for every one to see and judge as people still complain of lack of employment.

In truth and reality, no country on this globe can boast of development with at least less than 70 per cent of its total youth population not acquiring employable and knowledgeable skills while 80 per cent of the adult population stays out of employment, depriving the government tax revenue to build schools, hospitals, roads, support security services and provide key utility services as well as social services for the comfort of the citizenry.

In fact when lack of employment exist in a country where the majority of the youth can not enter college, learn a trade or land job, they get themselves entangled in the criminal web of armed robbery, stealing, car high jacking, drug peddling and human right abuses thereby overstretching the state security apparatus, where funds meant to support the aforementioned institutions and projects are instead squeezed to support security mainly to provide quality protection for the citizenry to live without fear.

It is so surprising to observe that many people are keeping the century old perception that it is only the government that can create jobs, particularly white colour jobs for the numerous and even the daily increasing population.

To some extent, they were right since the government taxes them. But where they got things wrong was where they are only waiting for white colour jobs and running away from technical, vocational and commercial training to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to qualify for self employment.

In other words, looking at the genesis of the unemployment problem in Ghana, it could be agreed that one needs to acquire professional knowledge and skills where when he applied would create job and wealth.

One particular area where people have to take it serious to enable all get out of the unemployment web is the shifting from only creation of white colour jobs to creation of scientific and industrial jobs as the case of some countries that once suffered huge unemployment problems and now doing better.

Here, those countries create the congenial atmosphere for private enterprises to be established to create employment for majority of the population who do not have job to do and as it produces goods and services, the government taxes those industries and workers.

What is sad for Ghana and for that matter some African countries is that whilst Asia, America and some European countries are making giant strides in scientific and industrialization programmes to create more jobs for the unemployed, they[African] countries continue to wallow in secretariat and commercialization leaving development to get stagnant in these countries.

If we are to restrict ourselves to unemployment issues in Ghana alone, one will not fear to say that the problem started immediately after the 19966 coup d'état that saw the overthrow of constitutional governments by the military junta.

It would be remembered that soldiers seized private enterprises, questioned owners sources of money, used force to turn private enterprises into state enterprises and finally collapsed them thereby creating jobless situation as well as create fear among others who wanted to establish private enterprises to stay away and not lose their businesses, and subsequent imprisonment, resulting in "kotobeton" to wit "buy and sell" situation now in Ghana.

Now to be able to change the tide of lack of employment in the country, all must put hands on deck to encourage persons with scientific and industrial mind as well as the wherewithal to take advantage of the present congenial atmosphere in the country and establish private enterprises to create jobs for the jobless youth and adults.

The youth must also be encouraged to acquire more knowledge and skills in professional courses that will qualify them for any job and stop the old market class shouting "no job, no job" or stop accusing the government of failing to create jobs for them to live comfortably.

Having said all these, everybody must do well to protect and defend the constitution by saying only constitutional heads of state must be recognized and that no military gangster must be allowed to rule and drive the country backwards.

So former heads of state including Mr. J.J. Rawlings could not solve the problem, former president J.A. Kufuor could not solve the problem, president Atta Mills could not solve the problem and whoever will come after him, may not be able to solve the problem if the youth who are crying out today fail to explore their potentials and make attempt to create employment for themselves, they will remain the same every year for us to complain about.

Credit: Stephen A. Quaye, Toronto-Canada.
(Email: teemagi2003@yahoo.com)

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