The Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) has urged the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to ensure that its services are accessible to all Ghanaian youth in both urban and rural areas of the country.
Mrs Theodora Williams Anti, the FOSDA Programme Officer, said whilst commending the Agency for the swift implementation of its mandate, it was not oblivious of the past experience of earlier organisations with similar mandates.
FOSDA is a civil society organisation with the mission to promote peace and human security by working to realise the lasting potential of communities and individuals through the systematic and effective sharing of information, knowledge and skills.
Mrs Anti said the rate of youth unemployment in the country was alarming as it threatened national security and general safety of citizens.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday, Mrs Anti insisted that the failure of organisations such as the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) to address the youth unemployment situation had contributed to such high unemployment rates that posed a threat to national security, especially in this election year.
“The bulk of the jobless youth in the country are the first resort for bad politicians and terrorists. Many young people resort to armed robbery, contract killings, internet fraud, drug abuse, and other forms of crime for survival,” she said.
According to Mrs Anti, YEA and other similar youth and social programmes must work effectively ahead of the 2016 elections to reduce tension and ensure peaceful elections.
“YEA must ensure that its recruitment processes are all inclusive, gender sensitive and disability friendly devoid of politicisation.
“Rural, urban, male, female and young people living with disability must be consciously targeted in all recruitments irrespective of their political affiliations,” she said.
She urged the youth to not only patronise the services of YEA and other similar organisations but also contribute to their success by showing interest in their activities.
The YEA was established under the Youth Employment Act 2015 (Act 887) to empower young people to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic and sustainable development of the nation.
According to the World Bank, youth unemployment refers to the share of the labour force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment.
The World Bank’s World Development Indicators (2014) showed that in Ghana the number of the youth in the total population had increased from 1.1 million in 1960 to 2.3 million in 1984, and to 3.5 million in 2000.
The World Bank statistics also indicate that about 65 per cent of the unemployed in Ghana can be found in the age group of 15-24 years.
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