An independent presidential aspirant Lord Ibrahim Sani has called for a fundamental rethink of Ghana’s approach to youth unemployment, arguing that the country cannot secure long-term economic prosperity while a significant proportion of its young population remains without meaningful employment opportunities.
In a press release copied to GraphicOnline, Sani described the challenge as not merely an employment issue but a broader economic and national development concern requiring urgent and coordinated action.
His comments come amid renewed concerns over Ghana’s youth unemployment situation, with recent Ghana Statistical Service data putting youth unemployment at 34.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2025.
Sani said the country’s response must move beyond government employment programmes and focus on creating an economic environment in which businesses, entrepreneurs and industries can generate sustainable employment.
“We should stop asking how many temporary jobs government can create and start asking what kind of economy can continuously create millions of productive jobs,” he said.
He argued that government alone cannot employ Ghana’s growing youth population and that the private sector must be positioned as a major engine of job creation. According to him, this requires predictable economic policies, reliable infrastructure, access to affordable capital, efficient public institutions and a business environment that allows Ghanaian companies to grow.
Education and skills
Sani also called for stronger links between education and the needs of the productive economy. He advocated greater investment in technical and vocational education, apprenticeships and industry-led training to ensure that young people acquire skills that translate into actual employment and enterprise opportunities.
“Access without economic opportunity creates frustration,” he said, stressing that education must be connected to the realities of the labour market.
He further argued that entrepreneurship should be treated as a serious economic pathway, with young people given access to mentorship, finance, technology and markets to enable them to build sustainable businesses.
Agriculture as an employment opportunity
The independent aspirant also identified agriculture as a major area of opportunity for Ghana’s youth. He said agriculture should no longer be viewed primarily as subsistence farming but as a modern industry encompassing technology, mechanisation, food processing, logistics, storage, marketing and exports.
“A young Ghanaian can be a farmer, agronomist, food processor, logistics operator, drone technician, software developer, equipment technician, exporter or agribusiness manager,” he noted.
Sani believes such an approach could create employment across the entire agricultural value chain while strengthening Ghana’s domestic production and export capacity.
Focus on digital jobs
He also urged Ghana to position its young population to benefit from the rapidly expanding global digital economy. According to him, young Ghanaians must not only consume technology but should be equipped to become technology creators, developers, entrepreneurs and service providers. He called for greater investment in digital infrastructure, technology education, creative industries and digital entrepreneurship.
National Youth Employment Compact
As part of his proposed approach, Sani called for the establishment of a long-term National Youth Employment Compact involving government, the private sector, financial institutions, educational institutions, organised labour and young people.
The proposed framework would focus on skills development, enterprise creation, industrialisation, modern agriculture, digital jobs, access to finance and transparent measurement of employment outcomes.
He also called for greater accountability in government employment initiatives, arguing that programmes should be assessed based on actual employment outcomes rather than the number of people trained or certificates issued.
“How many people were trained? How many obtained jobs? How many businesses survived beyond two years? How many jobs were actually created?” he asked.
Sani said these questions must become central to evaluating Ghana’s employment policies.
“Young people need opportunity, not dependency”
The independent presidential aspirant stressed that Ghana’s young people should not be viewed as a burden on the state. He described them as the country’s greatest economic asset and said they must be given the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to national development.
“Our youth are not Ghana’s unemployment statistics. They are Ghana’s workforce, entrepreneurs, innovators, farmers, engineers, artisans, creatives, scientists and future leaders,” he said.
Sani, who recently announced his intention to contest the 2028 presidential election as an independent candidate, has positioned his Rising Generation Movement around youth empowerment, job creation, entrepreneurship, education, technology and economic transformation. He said his independent candidacy reflects his belief that Ghana’s development agenda must transcend partisan interests and focus on practical solutions to the challenges facing citizens.
“Ghana must move from managing unemployment to creating an economy that makes employment possible,” Sani stated. He added that the country’s young people do not need politicians to simply promise them a future but require leadership prepared to build the economic foundations that will allow them to create and sustain their own opportunities.
