The National General Secretary of the National Service Association (NSS), Nana Adu Gyamfi, has voiced strong concerns about the treatment of Ghana's youth, asserting that they are consistently taken for granted.
In his view, the country's leaders prioritise their own interests and those of their families, neglecting the needs of the younger generation.
During an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, Mr Gyamfi highlighted the alarming frequency of protests and demonstrations at tertiary institutions over the past four or five years.
“This is cause for alarm because if the people only have to get their voices heard through protests, it indicates a serious problem. The past days you saw what happened in Kenya, it was so not good for a continent like Africa, a growing economy like Africa," he said.
Mr Gyamfi criticised the Government of Ghana for failing to listen to the concerns of the youth.
“It's disheartening that our leaders ignore us when we protest. This is not how a country should be governed, especially when it comes to its young people. It's bad for Ghana to neglect the future of its youth.”
Mr Gyamfi pointed out that his members have not been paid their allowances in two months, with no clear timeline for when they will receive their salaries.
“When we ask management, they say it will happen soon, but they never provide an exact date. This makes it hard to hold them accountable.”
He added, “We are in a country where it looks as if we don’t matter, so the authorities just do what they want to do."
Speaker of Parliament at the University of Ghana, Justice Alor, echoed Mr Gyamfi's sentiments on the same show.
He emphasised that the youth are indeed taken for granted and are often silenced when they speak out.
“This is problematic for our development. It’s high time we stood our ground and demanded accountability. This is the only Ghana we have. Unlike the leaders, who have options to leave the country, we have no such luxury. We must insist on the right actions being taken.”
Mr Alor expressed deep concern over what he termed the mismanagement in the country, particularly the lack of job opportunities, which drives many young people to seek better lives abroad, often with no guarantees.
“So as young people in this country we need our leaders, I’m not just speaking for myself but I’m speaking for the young person who is also in his final year, the young person who is on the street of Accra or any other city or community in Ghana who does not know where his or her next meal would come from, who is tired of the mismanagement that is going on, who is tired of the corruption in the country," he said.
He also criticised the government’s expenditure on the national cathedral project, saying, “As a devout Christian, I am sure that God is not pleased with the $58 million wasted on building a cathedral when our health and educational systems are in tatters. This is not what God wants for us. Everything has been mismanaged in our country.” he stressed.
Credit: Mavis Sekyibea Addo