STATEMENT BY NDC YOUTH WING TO MARK 2021 INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY

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The Youth Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) celebrates the resilience, courage and steadfastness of the youth of Ghana towards the development of our Nation as well as the active interest and participation of young people in our Nation’s democracy, as the World marks the 2021 edition of International Youth Day (IYD).

The theme for this year’s celebration, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health” aptly portrays a celebration of resourcefulness, ingenuity, and creativity of the Ghanaian youth as dynamic players in global competitiveness despite the vagary of our governance system under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

World over, Presidents are elected to work in the ultimate interest of the electorates, particularly the youth who are regarded as the leaders of tomorrow. Contrary to this accepted notion, President Akufo Addo and his vice, Dr Bawumia consider the saying that, the youth are the future leaders as some comical and fanciful words often said to young people to take their minds off real issues anytime it was time for him and his political hangers-on to loot and milk the State dry for his family interest.

The future of the youth of Ghana depends heavily on education and the opportunities that come with it. Unfortunately, however, not only has President Akufo Addo and his government changed the keys to the door of education that is said to be critical but they have also barricaded the said figurative door with questionable and shambolic policies. This has succeeded, sadly to say, in collapsing education at all levels.

A collapse of the country’s educational system has led to a situation where the youth have no access to job opportunities. As a result, the youth are being coaxed by filthy corrupt officials of the Akufo Addo-Bawumia government to accept what they deem as reality, that the only means to succeed as youth of Ghana is to dine and wine with this corrupt government in order to be initiated into a ‘corruption cult’. The prime aim of this cult is to train it’s new recruits on sophisticated ways of robbing our dear country to the chagrin of the already suffering masses.

The kind of governance structure needed to create environment for the youth to be innovative at a time the World is battling the deadly Covid-19 pandemic is not what is being delivered by the Akufo Addo-Bawumia administration. Instead of a well thought through policy to rally the youth in fighting the devastating virus, President Akufo Addo and his government have turned the situation into a welcomed fortune to further rob the future of the youth by entering into dubious and questionable deals.

The NDC Youth Wing wishes to remind President Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumia that they were elected to deliver on their numerous promises and not to turn the country into a worrisome crime scene as being witnessed. Needless to add, we wish to remind the President again that he was elected to invest in the youth for better livelihoods but not to forcefully snatch their lives using State sponsored thugs masquerading as personnel of National Security.

On this special day set aside for the youth, we demand an immediate reversal of the farcical government policies that have birthed absurd levels of corruption, unemployment and insecurity. We urge the Youth to intensify recent crusades to get our country fixed in the interest of all. We task the President and his Education, and Employment Ministers to descend their high horses, make compromises, come into agreement with University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and get them back into the lecture halls to pave way for academic work to continue.

In the wake of numerous killings of young people averse to the NPP’s maladministration orchestrated by President Akufo Addo, the NDC Youth Wing will climax this year’s IYD with a vigil at Osekan (High Street, Opposite Absa Bank, formerly Barclays Bank)- Odododiodioo Constituency at 5:30 PM. We call on all progressive minds to join us demand Justice for our slain colleagues in the struggle of accountable governance.

Signed
George Opare Addo, Esq,
National Youth Organizer.
12/08/21.