The National Peace Council (NPC) has called for strategic investment in the creation of sustainable jobs for Ghanaian youth to save the country from insurgencies being experienced in some West African countries.
More than three democratically elected Governments within the West Africa sub-region have been overthrown by military juntas since 2020, with the most recent one being Burkina Faso.
Mr George Amoh, Executive Secretary, NPC, said there should be urgent measures to address public concerns, especially on the labour front and youth unemployment to avert such insurgencies.
He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday in Accra on the sidelines of a forum on “Consolidation of peace in Ghana,” which formed part of the Trades Union Congress’s third biannual General Council meeting.
Mr Amoh said the labour force was critical in consolidating peace in the country, as such, the Government should pay heed to concerns raised by the Trades Union Congress, and other workers across the country.
Mr Amoh said: “There’s insurgency and violent extremism all around us; Burkina Faso, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria. So, as a country, we must protect the peace that we have, and the TUC is a credible partner that we can work with in realising this vision.”
He called on the Government to address the structural bottlenecks and create decent and sustainable jobs for the youth, adding that: “If people don’t have jobs, they’re vulnerable, and they can be used by any violent person to achieve their goals.”
“So, let’s get more people employed and remove the structural difficulties and when we’re able to do that we’ll create the environment for peace to take place,” the Executive Secretary said.
He urged the media to also support the efforts of the Council, Government and all stakeholders to ensure that the country’s peace was consolidated.
Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, the Representative of the Chief Imam on the Council added: “If you leave your young people without a job, then they can be a source of violence because they can be used for everything.”
Dr Anthony Yaw Baah, Secretary-General, TUC, assured that the Union would engage in peaceful negotiations to ensure that the country experienced no war.
He urged members of the Union across the country to contribute to the consolidation of peace in the country.
He described the move by the Peace Council to collaborate with the Union on ensuring peace in Ghana as laudable and used the occasion to call for TUC’s inclusion on the Council.
Ghana was ranked first in West Africa and second in Africa in the recent global peace index by the Institute for Economics and Peace, and 38th among 163 independent states and territories.
The ranking was based on political stability, violent demonstrations, violent crime, weapons imports, internal conflict, and neighbouring country relations.
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