49% youth unemployment in Accra is a ‘national security threat’ — Sylvester Tetteh warns gov’t to sit up

Former Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro Member of Parliament (MP) Sylvester Tetteh has sounded an alarm over the rising rate of joblessness in the country, describing the current youth unemployment statistics as a direct threat to Ghana’s national security.

Citing national data, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart pointed out that nearly half of the young people eligible for work in the capital are currently without jobs.

“Today, 49 per cent of employable youth in Greater Accra alone are unemployed. It’s 34 per cent across the [other] regions,” Tetteh emphasised.

He warned that leaving such a large portion of the youthful population without viable livelihoods poses a severe risk to the stability of the state.

“That is a national security threat,” Tetteh stated, urging that the issue requires immediate, concrete economic solutions rather than political rhetoric.

He questioned the viability of the government’s proposed 24-hour economy policy, particularly the plan to establish 264 markets across the country.

Tetteh criticised the Mahama administration’s policy direction, pointing out a contradiction in how the government evaluates development projects.

According to Tetteh, President Mahama and his team criticised the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration’s Agenda 111 hospital project but are now prioritising rural market structures under President Mahama’s flagship 24-hour Economic Policy. 

“They said it was unconscionable to begin 111 hospitals, but it is not unconscionable to begin 264 markets across the country,” Tetteh stated.

The former lawmaker questioned the practical feasibility of operating new markets in rural areas on a 24-hour basis when major established commercial hubs in the country’s cities do not do so.

“If big city markets like Makola, Kaneshie, and Adum are not operating 24 hours a day, how can new markets in the hinterlands be expected to do that?” Tetteh asked, challenging the economic logic and resource allocation of the administration.

The vocal NPP member spoke to the media at the headquarters of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), where NPP communications team member Dennis ‘Miracles’ Aboagye was being held over a GHS55 million corruption probe.

He accused the administration of President John Mahama of executing “unfounded arrests” of “leaders” to divert public attention from its governance failures.

Tetteh claimed that the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government is leveraging state security apparatus to stage periodic arrests as a public relations smokescreen.

“They periodically arrest prominent people just to cover up,” Tetteh said, arguing that the move is a deliberate strategy to “coverup” the government’s “terrible job”.

Tetteh contrasted these recent law enforcement actions with the government’s failure to deliver on key campaign promises, specifically highlighting President Mahama’s pledged “automatic recruitment of nurses and teachers,” for the NPP’s Agenda 111 healthcare initiative.

He argued that instead of addressing these critical welfare issues, the administration is focusing state resources on politically motivated detentions.

Tetteh warned that these actions would face scrutiny in the future, declaring that the NPP is currently “rebuilding and shall successfully finish and judiciously dissect matters” once they return to power.

Source: classfmonline.com