UNEMPLOYMENT OF NATIONAL SERVICE PERSONNEL IN GHANA: MR PRESIDENT, ACT QUICKLY

 The high rate and causes of unemployment in Ghana are heavily debated. Past government had tried their best but still the problem remains the same. The Ghanaian population is also growing very fast. In 2017 the National Service Secretariat deployed 91,871 personnel to serve in various institutions as part of their 1-year mandatory service to the country. 76,908 (85%) of the service personnel deployed served in the public sector while the remaining 14,963 (15%) were posted to the private sector.

This number is much alarming. Can our leaders, politician, law makers imagine the number of graduates that come out every year? Where are the jobs for these graduates? The reality of the job market has sent many graduates back to school to purse master degree courses and the rest has been left to wonder how to get a foothold in the job market.

I will like to congratulate the president of the numerous social interventionist programs to help solve unemployment rate in Ghana and the creation of a Nation Builders' Corps (NBC), which is set to address graduate unemployment in the country. Also like to use this opportunity to congratulate the former member of parliament of Okaikoi South and Managing Director of State Transport Company,  Nana Akomea of his good leadership qualities, innovation and creativity into the state transport industry.

According to a research conducted by the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER), only ten percent of the country's graduates are employed after national service.

Worse still, it takes more than ten years for some graduates to secure jobs after leaving school, the research indicated.

Many of the graduates that had 1st class, 2nd class have found themselves at places that they should not be. Their ambition in life has been curtailed. If we are to make visit to Ghana Prison Service, Ghana Police service we would find some of this youth. These youth have solutions to most of the problems facing the nation.

However, National Service personnel that were enrolled in 2017/2018 to do their service at various institution or centers will be bringing their service to an end. They are left with four months and what is government doing about that. Is government ready to maintain them? These are questions bubbling the minds of National Service Personnel.

When is government uplifting the ban on the public sector employment in certain department and agencies which is partly due to high wages and salary, and overall large deficits? If Ghana is beyond aid, we shouldn't allow others to determine for us. The One District, One Factory initiative, kick-starting  policy set to ignite Ghana's industrialization and set her on economic development has also slowed up.

In a recent statement by the Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah described as alarming the rate of Ghanaian students exiting the country to study abroad.

This according to him, is because the episode leaves a huge gap within Ghana's educational system which tends to hinder economic growth. "If you look at the flow of student traffic from one direction to the other, the traffic has not been as one would have expected. We have many more of our students, colleague lecturers, etc. moving in the direction of Europe and America, more than you have theirs moving in.

I will like to ask Prof Yankah whether there are enough jobs. Attachment, Internship have even become difficult.Sudents,graduate will continue to move out from the country due to better greener pastures others provide. Most politicians made it outsisde.They sit on radio and tell us how they had to work very hard there in order to end more. There are many people who travel to school outside in the sense of getting job. Most of the students move outside to marry in order to live in a better condition. They try to marry to get permit and become citizen in the country.

Problems caused by unemployment across the country are often bad and deep-rooted in local and regional communities and within particular groups of society. Many younger people may choose to leave the country in search of work.

The World Bank in its current report on jobs in Ghana has disclosed that about 48 percent of the youth in the country, who are between 15 - 24 years do not have jobs. The report further questioned the country's preparedness in dealing with the youth bulge in the coming decades.

National Service Personnel who shall be 26and 27 years will not have the chance0r meet the criteria for selection or admission into our security service(Armed forces, immigration). With this challenge, they had to rely on the government for other survivival.

The recent recruitment by the Ghana Immigration Service where over 15,000 people turned up to be screened for only 500 spots is indicative of the rate of unemployment in the country. What are our leaders doing about those who were not qualified into the Ghana Immigration Service. Are they leaving them like that? I feel very sorry for this youth.

Unemployment has remained the single most daunting challenge for successive governments over a long time. We hope this government will develop and implement policies to find remedies to the economic challenge.

 
BY:JESSEY KUNTU BLANKSON
[email protected]
Published by GWS Online GH : 2018-04-23

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