It’s the political season. With barely four months to the general elections, political parties and their leaders are busy churning out ideas, perspectives and policy plans for various sectors of national development.
As the low-hanging fruit it has always been, it is very common to hear statements around ‘youth’, ‘young people’, ‘future of our nation’, etc., in the usual political rhetoric.
I have paid attention to a few conversations on the subject, and my conclusion, without direct reference to any political party or leader, is;
“Same old; Same old!”
We cannot continue to pretend that we care about young people when we only see them as tools for enhancing our pursuits. So we’ll get them on the streets to demonstrate, get them to make noise on social media about living conditions in the country, and arm them with weapons to fight for our political interests. But when the time has come for us to fulfil our many promises to them, we’d rather resort to unnecessary debates and blame games across the political divide, in the upper echelons where we thrive.
Do we really care about the youth like we claim to? How do we prove this? In organising one-day events, getting people to mount stages and enjoy some fleeting fame, and sharing food and monetary handouts? Is this what makes us youth-driven?
Anyway…….
I woke up today with a full mind – a mind occupied with thoughts about the teeming youth of Ghana who are losing hope day by day. I may not be a political strategist or expert of a sort, but if I’m asked to provide three (3) key issues that need addressing, especially as related to youth, here are my ideas, what I have termed – The True Youth Manifesto.
1. Addressing the Housing Deficit
The basis of Abraham Maslow’s Theory of Needs is the Basic or Physiological needs. Speak to any young person today, especially if the one lives and works in a major city, and housing or accommodation will be topmost in their hierarchy of needs. We cannot be coughing about 30,000 cedis for rent costs when the average young person’s annual earnings are not even up to same.
How do we look on, while property owners adjust rent costs at their convenience, without recourse to the standard of living or best practice? What regulatory mechanisms are in place to ensure that facilities given out for rent are in good shape and habitable, at least, for humans?
Come on! The housing space has become unregulated, chaotic, and an arena of sheer profiteering. Young people are leaving tertiary institutions, in a sociocultural environment like ours where they are expected to assume parental responsibility, and all we can do for them as a nation is burden them with costs.
How difficult is it to design an affordable housing scheme (a practical and realistic one at that, not one that is useless to the people who need it) – no shades thrown – for young people, with flexible tenures that will push them to establish solid personal foundations for survival? I will not delve into detail. If anyone is interested, let them know that my consultancy services are not free.
2. Transportation!
There is nothing dignifying about public transport in this country – absolutely nothing! I saw a post earlier today, which I completely agree with. It said; ” Do not think that using public transport instead of a personal vehicle is a way to save money in Ghana” (paraphrased).
As if the rickety nature of commercial vehicles is not enough, the discomfort with having to stand in the open, exposed to the elements of the weather, and the violent struggle to get into a vehicle at rush hour is a stain on the dignity of the citizens we have vowed to protect.
Take the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange area for example, which many refer to as Circle. It is almost as though one commits a crime when after about 8 hours of work every day, you have to be subjected to pushes, shoves, and theft/pilfering by drug addicts parading as bus conductors (as to how that also became a norm, I’d leave it for another day), and what is your crime? That you woke up in the morning, decided not to be lazying around, but went to work to earn a decent living?
It appears that the usage of ride-hailing services would suffice in this instance, but are they entirely convenient or worthwhile? In a society like ours where we have a penchant for destroying everything, ride-hailing services are not functioning as they should. Lest I forget, a decision to use any of these would have a significant impact on your earnings, along with some adults ranting about how you waste money, etc.
In advanced countries, the metro bus system works seamlessly, and in a dignifying manner. I ask our leaders; do they see these things when they travel? How difficult is it to do same back at home?
There can be no true Youth Manifesto without addressing issues of transportation. Fix the railway system! Get us a coordinated public transport system. Design special packages for recent graduates, National Service personnel and entry-level workers. Regulate the space and attach some decency to how it is run. We should not dress up every day only to be smelling of ‘wele’ or ‘momone’ by the time we get to work. Designate specific vehicles for market women, etc.
I’ll move on.
3. Tax Reliefs!
The economy can be designed in such a way that young people are given tax reliefs that enable them to make substantial savings for sustenance. The numerous taxes are strangling us to death. Today, you risk paying double the amount specified for your favourite pack of jollof rice from a restaurant, because of taxes. I will not go into the details, but why are we still paying the COVID-19 levy?
Import duties have become a huge discouragement to the average young person. Save some money to get yourself a second-hand vehicle, as is the norm for most young people, and import duties alone would scare you out of it. Away from the quest for luxury (if you see it that way), we cannot be screaming entrepreneurship when we fail to create a conducive atmosphere for such enterprises to thrive.
Business owners are paying as much as triple the price of raw materials because of huge import duties and an unstable currency. If we do not provide what is needed to make life comfortable for the youth, can’t we at least reduce the burden on them?
I could talk about the very obvious ones like Employment, Skills Training, AI and Technology, etc., but it all comes down to survival. In my opinion, a Youth Manifesto that fails to address these three thematic areas is no manifesto at all.
The youth love Ghana. We want to be proud of the motherland, to stay, work and see it blossom far beyond our age, even unto posterity. For the many who are exiting the shores of the country, it is even that on making a better living elsewhere, the gains will be transferred back home, to build our motherland.
On International Youth Day, what young people need is not colourful fora and symposia where political party faithful get to swim in their sycophantic pools once again, tagging along their Masters, but the addressing of issues and development of policies that truly address the reality of the Ghanaian youth.
I do not know what the political parties have outlined for young people, but for what’s been said and seen, we can only lament with the author of Ecclesiastes, this time;
Vague! Oh, Vague!!!
No substance! Out of touch!!!!
Politicians! Do better!
Regardless of your affiliation, youth is a resource to harness, and not one to be toyed with.
My name is Gifty Nti Konadu;
I am young, I love Ghana, and I think the youth deserve better!!!!!
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