Government's ignorance puts the youth's future at stake: A heartless, clueless, and visionless approach!

The NPP government led by President Nana Akufo-Addo has largely shown a lack of concern for the welfare of the youth. Many of its policies have been detrimental to the youth and lack effective strategies to improve their livelihood. This gives the impression that our leaders are callous and indifferent to the current economic difficulties faced by the youth.

Recently, the NPP government introduced a new tax policy that adds to the burden already placed on the youth. They now require individuals participating in lotteries and sports betting to pay a 10% withholding tax on their winnings. What is ironic is that ‘the Lotto and Betting Act 94’ was passed in 1960 to establish a lottery in Ghana to generate revenue for the country's development.

The main objective of the National Lottery Authority is to generate more funds for the state through the lottery games we participate in. So, how can the government tax us again on the money we contribute to the state through these games? The game itself is already taking our money for state development, yet they want to extract even more.

This situation is unheard of in any other part of the world. This government lacks compassion and understanding. The government and its officials are solely focused on what they can gain from the system without making any meaningful contributions to the roles they have been assigned. It is all about money for their own pockets.

The government claims that it expects to generate GH¢1.2 billion in revenue from this policy in its first year of implementation. When one considers this figure, it is laughable to think that the government is truly concerned about this small amount of money, especially when billions of Çedis/dollars are being wasted on unnecessary and unaccountable expenses by the government through the Bank of Ghana.

Why are those responsible still in their positions? Why are heads not rolling? And yet, they want to take our meager savings and waste them again. May God have mercy. The government wants to burden us with unreasonable taxes just to satisfy their extravagance. Instead of practicing fiscal prudence in managing our limited resources, they are mismanaging and diverting everything that belongs to all of us, at the expense of the masses.

Furthermore, the government wants to tax our winnings. I must ask, is the government willing to reimburse us for all our losses? Will the government compensate us every time we lose a bet or a game? The NPP government should focus on understanding why so many young people are now partaking in lotteries and various forms of betting.

This is a result of the high unemployment rate caused by the government's incompetence, poor policies, and mismanagement of the economy. Many young people have lost hope in the system, and their only hope for a livelihood is through lotteries and betting. This problem is stifling the creativity of the youth, as they have stopped using their intellect, knowing there will be no benefits in this current system. Sadly, the government has failed to create opportunities for the youth to thrive.

Instead, the government should prioritize creating a favorable economic environment for businesses to flourish and generate meaningful employment. They should reduce unnecessary expenditures and live a more modest lifestyle, placing the interests of the youth at the forefront of their agenda. This government needs to do more and do better.