The Upper East Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Ayinbisa, has expressed concern over the growing unemployment situation in the country following the tragic stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra. The incident claimed six lives and left several job seekers injured during the Ghana Armed Forces’ 2025/2026 recruitment exercise.
Speaking on A1 Radio, Mr. Ayinbisa noted that the large turnout at the recruitment centre reflected the increasing number of capable and qualified young people who remain without jobs. He said the desperation witnessed at the stadium highlighted the severity of the unemployment crisis and its potential implications for national security.
“The number of able and qualified people ready to work, yet not finding jobs in the economy, is becoming a very serious matter. Others describe it as a national security concern,” he said.
Mr. Ayinbisa attributed the tragedy to the economy’s inability to generate sufficient employment opportunities. He criticized the current government’s approach to job creation, referencing the administration’s flagship “24-hour economy” initiative, which he believes has not yet delivered results.
“This is a result of the fact that there are no jobs in this country. The economy is not able to create the needed jobs. We have said time without number that it’s the public sector that creates jobs,” he stated.
He explained that the initiative was intended to create opportunities by allowing businesses to operate in multiple shifts, engaging more workers. However, nearly a year into the administration’s tenure, he argued, the system has yet to function as planned. If it had, many young people would likely have secured employment by now, potentially preventing incidents like the stampede.
“For the nine, ten, or eleven months they have been in office, if they had implemented this policy effectively, I’m sure a good number of youth would have gotten jobs, and this is not where we would have been,” he stressed.
Mr. Ayinbisa insisted that the lack of jobs remains the root cause of the incident and reiterated the need for deliberate and practical measures to address the country’s employment deficit.
Source: a1radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Gifty Eyram Kudiabor|Bolgatanga
