MR President - YLPG wants to know if you care

His Excellency:

We the members of the Young Liberals Party of Ghana on behalf of the youth of our beloved country, Ghana, would like to draw your attention to the negative effects of some of the policies your current administration has implemented.

First, allow us to commend you for shedding light on youth employment and some other youth related projects your government shared in the corridors of the United Nations, and the youth of Ghana hopes that this isn’t yet another “lips–service,” which is aimed at satisfying the global community and stake-holders, without any real plans of implementing anything.

Granted, we can all agree that the opposition NPP party did pull the brakes on our collective economic growth as a country due to the supreme court saga they created, but with this behind us, Ghanaians were not expecting a slap in the face with astronomical hikes in tariffs that no proper consultation have been put into prior to its implementation.

Mr. President, an old retired teacher who lives in the outskirts of Accra, with strong convictions towards good governance and until this weekend held strong admirations towards your leadership skills, broke down in tears when he said, something must be wrong with our leadership today if they think on top of all the woes that the average Ghanaian faces today it was right for government to increase the Utility tariffs at this time, leaving him with no choice but to lower the admiration bar he held for your administration. His reasons, very simple, government pays him GHC75 per month as his pension money, he spends about GHC30 for Utility bills in the compound house he rents (prepaid electricity), and for government to implement the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) recommendations, without first dialoguing with consumers/community leaders etc etc , is surely a bad practice and a slap in his face , and doesn’t illustrate good governance at all.

The Young Liberals Party is gravely worried that moves such as this, raising in Tariffs without any proper consultation with the people of Ghana, nor even hinting or preparing Ghanaians through the various media outlets, could only push many of our young unemployed youth into desperation. And with your administration’s lack of commitment towards arresting the current decay of youth un-employment, young Ghanaians are asking if you truly care about the well-being of the citizenry of our beloved country.

GYEEDA-GATE, is a clear indication of how corrupt and irresponsible certain arms of the government are, and though the media took to the airwaves to sing and celebrate the GYEEDA REPORT, no clear mandate is being given to ensure that corruption at such high level is never again seen in our governmental structures. Young Ghanaian youths, many of whom were subjected to sexual intimidation / sex for jobs, etc lowered their morality simply because personnel from GYEEDA didn’t have the checks and monitoring instruments that could ensure the steady growth of the Youth Employment policies of your government. We, of the Young Liberals Party of Ghana, would like to know, what the office of the president is doing to ensure that such decay of corruption is never exhibited again when it comes to YOUTH EMPLOYMENT and YOUTH EMPOWERMENT, because we are the future of our beloved country Ghana.

We hereby call on government to begin a campaign that would engage all Ghanaians when it comes to policies aimed at enhancing our development. Best practices of good governance comes about when the president is not only seen as a man in GUCCI SUITS or LOUIS VITTON shirts, but one that can sit with the youth on any given day and dialogue with us so that together we can build a Ghana which is befitting to all . The current structures which alienates some politicians from their own constituencies and keeps the president in a virtual bubble, is what creates dictators, so we the youth would like to see a president that is able to put his words into actions. Enough

of the “lips service”, enough of taking decisions without realistic consultations with the people these policies would be affecting most, and above all do hold people that condone corruption responsible to their actions. The plight of the youth is reaching a boiling point that, when not addressed or managed properly, can derail the relative calm we enjoy as a country.

We are hopeful that, someone from your office, with a fair understanding of social epidemiology, can alert you to the fact it is time government starts to address youth un-employment and to engage the youth in areas of Creative Arts, Technology, Security, Management Training, etc to awaken the huge potentials that lay to waste in many of our youth today, enough of the azonto governance.

Long live Ghana, and long live all those working to make Ghana a better place to live.

N. Kwafo

Communications Sec

THE YOUNG LIBERALS PARTY of GHANA