Minority Leader and Effutu MP, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has sounded the alarm over Ghana’s rising unemployment, cautioning that the crisis could soon evolve into a threat to national security if not urgently addressed.
Speaking at the grand durbar and handing-over ceremony of the Asante Students Union at the University of Ghana on Sunday, August 17, 2025, Afenyo-Markin described joblessness among young people as a ticking time bomb.
“More than one in every four Ghanaians wakes up each morning with no meaningful job to go to. Our overall unemployment rate is nearly 15%. When young people can’t find jobs, it is not just an economic problem; it becomes a threat to our national security in a region experiencing various forms of armed conflict,” he warned.
The MP linked the worsening unemployment situation to what he described as the government’s failure to sustain key job-creation initiatives introduced under the Akufo-Addo administration. He pointed in particular to the discontinuation of the One District, One Factory (1D1F) programme and related tax incentives for investors, which he argued had stifled industrial growth.
He further expressed concern over the country’s growing burden of unpaid loans. According to him, over GH¢291 million loaned under the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) remains unpaid, while the banking sector lost GH¢654 million in just five months this year through bad debt. The mobile money space, he added, is plagued by borrowers defaulting with ease.
“This culture is a cancer eating at our economic soul,” he said, stressing that government must create a business-friendly climate to inspire innovation, support investment, and generate sustainable jobs.
Despite his criticism of government policy, Afenyo-Markin also called on young people to rise to the challenge of innovation. “When leaders won’t build opportunities, the next generation of leaders must build them from scratch,” he declared.
His comments underscore a growing national debate about how Ghana can tackle unemployment sustainably—through both government reforms and youth-led entrepreneurship.
