The hopes of the youth waning – Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang

The Vice Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has said the hopes of the youth in Ghana are dwindling under the current government.

According to the language professor, her experiences with the youth in Ghana paint a picture of waning despair.

She disclosed this in an interview with TV3‘s Berla Mundi Monday, November 9 on Election 360.

“The hopes of the youth are waning. They are losing hope gradually. We need to let them feel included. We need to let them know this hope that situations can change. We need to let them be included and respected.

“And I think that is why we did the manifesto the way we did. When you say the youth, there’s nothing like a single group called the youth.

“The youth have different categories, different needs, and you need to be very very mindful in aggregating these needs, so that you’re able to meet them.

“There’s somebody who falls in the category of youth, who’s never been to school. So our plans need to cover all these people.”

She added that the struggles of the youth especially women and girls was a worrying situation worth addressing.

“I mean if you meet women, girls, especially going to fetch water, and you are driving and you go a long distance before you see the water they’re coming to fetch it should be a matter of concern to you, because you ask yourself if these girls are in school, for example, and they have to do this and get to school at 7am, at what time do they get into schools, and therefore if they are getting to school every day late, are you surprised that the results come in [and] some of the girls are not doing so well?

“And then you know very well that it is not the case that they cannot do well but because some challenges in their lives have not been removed.”

Youth inclusion and participation borders heavily on the manifestos of the two major political parties in Ghana.

Ghana’s youthful population makes the special group an issue of interest to political leaders in the country.

Both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) have pledged some support for the youth ahead of the 2020 general elections.