Ghana Spent 18 Months Studying Youth Unemployment Before Acting, Minister Says

• Youth Development Minister George Opare Addo has said the government's first 18 months focused on understanding youth unemployment
• Opare Addo said surveys and research now guide the government's approach to tackling the youth unemployment crisis in Ghana
• The minister identified poor coordination among state institutions, not a lack of programmes, as the biggest obstacle to solving youth unemployment

Youth Development and Empowerment Minister George Opare Addo has defended the government's slow start on youth unemployment, saying the first 18 months in office were deliberately used to study the problem before rolling out solutions.

Speaking on Wednesday, July 8, the minister acknowledged the period had been difficult but insisted that rushing into action without fully understanding the problem would have produced poor outcomes.

"Within the last one year and six months, it's been very tough. That I must admit, it's been very difficult, and it's been very challenging."

Opare Addo told Joy News that addressing youth unemployment is not a matter of quick fixes, describing spending on young people as a long-term investment whose returns take time to materialise.

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During the 18 months, his ministry commissioned several surveys and research projects to build a clearer picture of what young Ghanaians were actually facing.

The minister said the findings had given the government a firmer grasp of the underlying challenges and were now informing policy decisions across the ministry.

"And God has been so good. At least today, I'm able to tell you that I have a very good appreciation of what the issues are, and based on what the survey told us, what the research told us, we are using it to tackle our problems."

Adutwum criticises Mahama administration

YEN.com.gh reported that Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum had criticised the President John Mahama-led government for extending the Free SHS policy to private schools.

He argued that the double-track system had been phased out successfully under the NPP and that bringing in private schools made no sense.

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The current government announced that the policy extension would begin in the next academic year as part of plans to decongest public schools.

Source: YEN.com.gh