The National Youth Authority (NYA) has dismissed the assertion that the youth has resorted to betting due to the unavailability of jobs.
This comes after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) criticized the government for its decision to tax 10% of the earnings of individuals who bet as a source of livelihood.
But the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, Pius Enam Hadzide, believes that the government has rolled out enough programs and interventions to equip the youth for employment.
“It is a palpable falsehood to argue that the state, the government of Ghana, has denied any young person anything. No honest observer could even imagine that that statement could be made. You know about the erstwhile National Board for Small-Scale Industries that was the legacy of the NDC. Compare that to the revamped, repositioned Ghana Enterprises Agency. See what is happening there now.”
“Millions of dollars, millions of cedis are going out in loanable funds to young people to be able to do their business. And you see the joy and the excitement when the young people of our country benefit from this intervention. We do not want to build the country on gamblers and people who have resorted to a game of luck and chance. We are a serious-minded people by nature, and we are determined that we can rise up to the occasion and develop our country and create the commonwealth,” he stated.
But the NDC insists that they will use all available means to oppose the move.
Osman Ayariga, Deputy National Youth Organizer, indicated that what was needed was the availability of jobs for the youth, for which reason he said the NDC would continue to agitate with the youth until the right thing was done.
“What they need to do is to provide jobs. If you provide jobs, the youth will work, and then you can tax the jobs. That is all that we are calling for. So we continue to call on the youth that we are with them, and we are fighting to the end. This has nothing to do with populism. It has to do with people’s hustle, it has to do with people’s livelihood, it has to do with people’s suffering.”
“Obviously, Pius is not part of the youth that are suffering. He has a well-paying job, so he can sit in the comfort of his air-conditioned office and say the things he wants to say. He doesn’t understand what it means to wake up in the morning with an empty stomach and go to school with an empty stomach. So he shouldn’t sit there and say the things that he is saying. We are telling you as the youth of this country that we are hungry and angry with this corrupt government, and we will demonstrate against it,” he stressed.