Over 300,000 graduates without jobs, unemployment becoming national security threat - Alan Kyerematen

Independent candidate, Alan Kyerematen, has said the phenomenon of pervasive employment crisis in Ghana has become a national security threat.

He stated that over 300,000 students graduate from various tertiary institutions with no glimmer of hope of securing a job in their search.

This, he said, was evidenced by the three-day “OccupyJulorbiHouse” protests organised by the Democracy Hub in Accra.

Alan Kyerematen asserted that employment in the public sector was also not an option because the sector was already over-bloated with public service.

“Every year over 300,000 graduates from tertiary institutions in Ghana, excluding those from secondary institutions, enter the job market with little or no hope of finding a job. Clearly, public sector employment is not an option, with an already over-bloated public service. This phenomenon of pervasive employment crisis is gradually becoming a national security threat, as evidenced by the recent “Occupy Julorbi House” demonstrations,” Alan Kyerematen said after he resigned from the New Patriotic Party on Monday, September 25, 2023.

The #OccupyJulorbiHouse protest

#OccupyJulorbiHouse, for good reasons, trended for three straight days topping trends as protesters under the guidance of Democracy Hub marched against economic malaise and corruption.

On Day 1 (September 21) of the #OccupyJulorbiHouse protests by the Democracy Hub, the police illegally rounded up hundreds of protesters who were marching to demand action on the prevailing economic crisis and corruption.

The illegal arrests, especially how they were conducted by the police, triggered harsh criticism of impeding the constitutional right to protest and deploying highhandedness on the part of the police.

Police sent the detainees to the regional headquarters before splitting them up into about eight police stations dotted across the capital, even as colleague protesters and lawyers worked to secure bail for the illegally detained persons.

In this process, other journalists and protesters who massed up, especially at the Accra Regional Command, encountered some amounts of police violence, including shoving, forced detention, seizure of phone and in the case of others, physical assault.

Day 2 and 3 passed without any major incident as police barricaded the main road leading to the presidency, Jubilee House, even before the protesters began their march towards the place.

While Day 2 saw the blocking of one part of the 37-Accra Road, the final day saw the blocking of both sides which meant vehicular traffic was greatly constrained for the better part of the day.

Both Day two and three saw some celebrities join the protest.

You can also watch today's GhanaWeb news headlines in Twi here

SA/NOQ

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

Watch the latest edition of BizTech and BizHeadlines below:

Click here to start the nomination process for the 2023 GhanaWeb Excellence Awards