Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the minority leader, has expressed extreme displeasure with the president’s State of the Nation Address, calling it a hopeless speech.
In his most recent State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, February 27, President Akufo-Addo announced that alternate funding for the La General Hospital had been obtained. He also mentioned that Kumasi Airport will soon be finished.
But following the speech, Dr. Ato Forson expressed his dismay, highlighting in particular the critical state of the nation’s unemployment rate.
Dr. Ato Forson highlighted that only 11.3 million people—including peasant farmers—are employed out of the 33 million people living in the country.
He charged that the president was failing to address the issue of unemployment, pointing out that a sizeable portion of the population is unemployed.
“Mr. Speaker, our nation’s unemployment situation is at a critical point,” he declared. However, our president remained silent on the subject.
“Mr. Speaker, only 11.3 million of the thirty-three million (33) people living in the country are employed. Peasant farmers are included in this figure. Mr. Speaker, the lack of assets, employment, or income is what I refer to as “Ninja,” and it makes the difference between the 33 million and the 11.3 million. This indicates, Mr. Speaker, that two out of every three Ghanaians do not have a job.
“Mr. Speaker, approximately 4.5 million employable Ghanaians are not in the labour force, and thirty percent of our youth are unemployed. This simply indicates that a significant portion of the population has given up on their job search due to years of dissatisfaction and setbacks.”
