Former President John Dramani Mahama has painted a picture of the danger associated with the teeming unemployment in the country. He has likened the development to sitting on a time bomb, which will explode if care is not taken.
He has bemoaned the incidence of many Ghanaians sinking into poverty, saying government needs to put in urgent measures to ameliorate the development.
Citing a recent statistic which indicates some 2 million youth being unemployed with 55 per cent of them living in poverty, John Mahama noted that the figures are the highest the nation has recorded in history.
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On a working visit to two constituencies in the Greater Accra Region Thursday, July 18, 2024, the NDC flag bearer said his next administration will work assiduously to reduce the numbers.
“Our people are sinking into poverty. A recent report says that 55% of Ghanaians are living in poverty. We’ve never had this high percentage of Ghanaians living in poverty before. Two million young people are sitting idle at home, not doing any of these three things. This is a very dangerous statistic to witness.
“And so we’re sitting on a time bomb in this country. When NDC was in power, unemployment was 8.2%. Today, unemployment is 14.7%. And aside from this, life is hard for everybody. For our women and other people who go to the markets.
“I mean, we have the highest food inflation, almost the highest food inflation in Africa. Prices are unbearable,” he stated.
He added that the biggest challenge the country faces is the fact that the current administration is refusing to accept that the country is facing some crisis.
“But the dangerous thing is, when you’re ill and you know what is wrong with you, it is halfway towards a cure.
“If you’re ill and you know it’s malaria, you’re halfway towards curing yourself of malaria. If you’re ill and you know it’s typhoid, you are diagnosed, you know it’s typhoid, you’re halfway towards getting the cure. Unfortunately, the people who have caused this economic crisis do not even realize there’s a crisis,” he lamented.
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