● Unemployment is a national threat

“We are experiencing violence and murders in the country because young people these days are capitalising on lack of jobs to do all manner of things: ritual activities, theft, robberies among other crimes.  They are just ready to do anything for money.”

Mr. James Baba Anabiga, Speaker of Upper West Youth Parliament said this recently on the sidelines of a Research Dissemination Meeting at Wa which was under theme ”Wa Killings, Lapses and The Way Forward.”

He said although most young people in the country were faced with issues of unemployment, some of them had used that as an avenue to engage in all sort of illegalities and always gave the excuse that there were no jobs in the country.

The study was launched to assess the role of some stakeholders in resolving the mysteries behind the recent murders and disappearance of persons, particularly private security men in the region.

The Wa Municipality was recently trending for the consistent murder and alleged disappearance of 10 persons in separate incidents with seven of them being security guards (night watchmen) between April and September this year.

“It is important to state that the increasing rate of youth unemployment in the country cannot be ruled out in the current sad security situation in the Wa Municipality and the country at large”, he said.

The Speaker was of the view that regardless of the unemployment status of the youth in the country, the law would deal with any of them who was caught in any act of illegality, and advised them to abstain from the temptation of resorting to dubious means to make ends meet.

“I wish to advise the youth to get something to do, no matter how little, and avoid the habit of falling for engagements which are unlawful because in the long run, the law will not take youth unemployment as an excuse for any misdeed; the culprits will surely suffer whatever penalty due them”, he warned.

He further encouraged the government and other stakeholders to take up youth unemployment seriously because it was national security threat.

From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa