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Former President John Dramani Mahama has noted that unemployment in Ghana is at its highest in history at the moment.
Current unemployment is estimated at 13%, he said.
Mr Mahama said these in a speech he delivered at the graduation ceremony of the Academic City University College over the weekend.
The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the graduating students that “We left the university gates and walked into ready jobs waiting for us. There was automatic posting if you wanted to go into teaching. Many of us were retained and absorbed into workplaces where we had been posted for National Service.
“Our colleagues who made first class were quickly snapped up by prestigious banks and private corporations like UAC, Lever Brothers, now Unilever, and Standard Chartered Bank as management trainees.
“Fortunately, or unfortunately for you, the world is entirely different today. Climate change is creating forest fires in the northern hemisphere and pushing temperatures to historic highs. The coral reefs are dying; the polar ice is melting. Africa is facing either droughts or incessant flooding. The Sahara Dessert is drifting southward, threatening us with an ever-drier climate.”
He added “Ukraine and Russia are at war. Sudan is in a civil war. There are many conflicts all over Africa. Terrorists have taken over the Sahel and are threatening to push down to the West African coast.
“There are no ready jobs to absorb you. It may take years for you to find decent employment. There are cases of students who remain unemployed five years after completing university. Unemployment in Ghana is at its highest in history today, estimated at 13%. Our economy is in crisis. The closure of indigenous banks and the banking sector cleanout have led to the loss of several jobs.
“A Debt Exchange Programme has led to massive haircuts, eroding the capital of Ghanaian entrepreneurs, the income of middle-class families and pensioners’ savings.
“Our democracy is at risk with confidence and trust in leadership at its lowest ebb. But it is not all doom and gloom for you. You have laptops and tablets with more extensive storage and are faster than any computer in our time. You have numerous search engines that put the world of knowledge at your fingertips. But best of all, you are not stepping out of an Ivory Tower.
“Over the years, universities have adjusted their curricula to integrate them and make them more relevant to the societies in which they exist. One such institution is Academic City University College. An innovative Centre of learning that equips its students with practical knowledge that allows them to be instruments of societal transformation wherever they are employed. ”
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