Arab Spring underscores need for jobs - Akufo-Addo

The flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, has highlighted the importance of creating jobs, which will be the focus of the party if he wins the December 7 presidential election.

Mr Akufo-Addo, in reference to how in 2010, frustrations with unemployment in Tunisia culminated in one young man, Mohamed Bouazizi, setting himself on fire and setting into motion protests in Tunisia that toppled Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali and became known as the Arab Spring, said the need for jobs for young people cannot be overemphasised.

Series of democratic uprisings arose independently and spread across the Arab world in 2011. The protests quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.

Mr Akufo-Addo, who was speaking in an interview with Peace FM’s Kwame Sefa Kayi on Friday, December 2, pointed out that “such desperation to burn oneself to send a message shows the importance of creating jobs for the teeming youth in the country”.

The three-time presidential candidate emphasised that provision of jobs to help citizens earn a decent living “forms an integral part of the reasons for his campaign to be the next president”.

“The heart of the matter is creating an enabling environment to boost job creation,” he emphasised.

For him, this was what informed the theme for the 2016 campaign dubbed: ‘Change: An Agenda for Creating Jobs’.