The New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Aburi-Nsawam, O. B Amoah, has warned that Ghana could soon play host to chaotic and violent scenes similar to the recent youth insurgency in North Africa if the growing problem of youth unemployment around the country is not immediately addressed.
He told colleague MPs on the third day of debate on the 2012 National Budget on Friday that youth unemployment could become a major national security fault line, especially as the Mills administration continues to make �unfulfilled promises� to the young people of Ghana.
�What is very worrying appears to be the fact that every year we keep promising the youth. We keep bringing new programmes and policies, but they never see the light of day,� he said.
His comments come months after the beginning of the Arab spring, which has seen three North African long-time leaders toppled by months of sustained youth uprising, inspired by widespread unemployment, poverty and what some critics had called �institutionalised corruption� in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
The Aburi-Nsawam MP said: �I believe in Ghana, unemployment among the youth has become a major source of insecurity. ..,� adding that �Column 153 of the 2009 budget spelt out the vision of this government and said that among other things the government will ensure employment creation.�
However, he said, �If you go through the budgets from 2009 to the latest 2012 budget, it is just one promise after the other which has not been fulfilled.�
To buttress his point, the former deputy Minister for Sports in the Kufuor administration cited a string of what he said were failed promises previously made by the Mills administration in budget statements since 2009.
�In 2009, the government of the NDC in the budget Column 1189 said that the National Youth Employment programme will be turned into a permanent youth employment service. As we speak that has not happened,� he said.
"Whatever happens this budget is the last budget of President Atta Mills and the NDC government," O.B Amoah said, drawing strong condemnation from Alhaji Sornogho, who accused the Aburi Nsawam MP of seeking to destabilize the nation�s growing democracy.
Early on, Minority Spokesperson on Youth and Sports, Hon Isaac Asiamah challenged the Mills administration to be �bold� on unemployment.
Claiming the problem of growing unemployment in Ghana has been relegated to the background, the Atwima Mponua MP challenged the Mills government -- which came to power promising to invest heavily in people, including the youth -- to take what he called "bold" steps to push the problem of unemployment back onto the priority list of government.
He also accused the Mills administration of making a series of unfulfilled promises to the youth of Ghana and claimed the 2012 budget does not give hope for the youth.
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