Former Information Minister and Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has urged the government to urgently address Ghana’s worsening youth unemployment, insisting that young people need jobs and economic opportunities rather than political slogans and promises.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, June 11, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said the growing unemployment situation requires practical and measurable interventions, not rhetoric.

He stressed that government must move beyond promises and focus on delivering tangible employment opportunities for the thousands of young people entering the labour market each year.

"“First, we need to anchor every job programme on published delivery scorecards with clear metrics on beneficiaries, the cost of these jobs, and the time to placement.”

According to him, skills training initiatives must also be separated from direct job creation efforts to avoid producing unemployed graduates without corresponding demand in the labour market.

"Training people without creating demand for their skills only manufactures disappointment."

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah further suggested a shift in funding models towards public-private partnerships, where government plays a facilitative role by reducing investment risks and providing regulatory clarity, while private sector capital drives large-scale job creation.

He also advocated for "strengthening the apprenticeship system through national certification, employer co-funding, and structured pathways into employment or self-employment".

Additionally, he called for the establishment of a credible national labour market information system to provide real-time data on job vacancies, sectoral demand, and skills gaps to guide policy and budgeting decisions.

“Mr. Speaker, we do not need more slogans or promises that end up in the pipeline. What we need are effective ways to solve the worsening youth unemployment problem in our country,” he said.

He cited data from the Ghana Statistical Service indicating that youth unemployment remains a growing concern, stressing the need for urgent and coordinated action to address the challenge.

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Ghana needs real solutions for unemployment, not just big words – Oppong Nkrumah

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