The Regent of Ashaiman, Nii Annang Adzor, has called on Ghanaians to embrace the prospects of industrialization to change the nation’s fortunes.
He believes this would position the nation on a path where a chunk of the increasingly unemployed youth would get employment opportunities.
Nii Annang made the call yesterday in an interview with the Daily Statesman on how far Ghana had fared since 66 years of independence. He also touched on the need to intensify vocational and technical education as a way of helping create new industries and expand existing ones.
Practical education
Nii Annang noted that practical education in all facets of Ghana’s educational system will aid in accelerated development, especially in the quest to make the country an industrial hub across the African continent in years to come.
“The globe is running at a relatively fast pace, and there is a need to use practical education as a panacea to the numerous issues the nation faces, like graduates’ unemployment, bad roads, food price hikes, among others,” the chief noted.
He also urged Ghanaians to have the interest of the nation at heart, and work assiduously to change the affairs of the nation.
“After 66 years of independence, Ghana is obviously a pensioner. Ask yourself what you can do in your capacity as a citizen to change the communities in which you live. It shouldn’t be about the government every day. Sometimes, we need to be proactive as a people to ensure that the knowledge we acquire is beneficial to the less privileged in our respective communities and, by extension, aims to solve pertinent issues within our respective catchment areas,” he added.
He indicated that one of the surest ways is to positively leverage the skills acquired in vocational and technical education, stressing “that way, you can open your own business and employ others”.
Factories
He further appealed to the government to expedite efforts in putting up more factories to absorb the growing number of graduates the universities churn out every year.
Nii Annang bemoaned the rate at which some young ladies engage in prostitution, drug addiction, and other deviant acts over the supposed lack of employment avenues.
“I believe with factories in place, a large number of the youth will be engaged in a more profitable venture and, by extension, have a livelihood. It is, therefore, imperative that job opportunities be created to rescue promising youth who are currently wasting away as a result of drug addiction and promiscuity,” he noted.
