What I think about the Unemployment Situation In Ghana

Graphic Business-Stanbic Bank would discuss unemployment situation in Ghana next Tuesday. After National Service most graduates in Ghana are made redundant. Especially with GRA. Most people have begun agitating that Government overpays salaries to government workers. That their pay is too much and should be reduced. We all don’t know whether incumbent governments or upcoming ones would maintain salary rates, increase or reduce them in the years to come.

But there’s always a way out. Something that could be done so we could pay more taxes to the government. For instance. I am supposed to pay my own medical bills. My siblings have long sought to redraw their support. So it happened that MOBA 1997 my year group at Mfantsipim sought to pay all my medical bills so I could have some relief. They had wanted to begin granting me something on weekly basis but I felt that is or was to quick an intervention. So now that MOBA settles my medical bills it behoves me to take two tangible investment decisions. That I could go back to them and show as evidence that I am making proper use of my time of earth. I had two major decisions ahead of me.

MOBA 1997 has been worried I am not still married but it starts from a point. Earning enough regularly which MOBA could even intervene if seeking for a job was the main problem. Let’s remember MOBA National are greatly represented in almost every recognized job sector in Ghana. And in abroad. And could pull resources over time to fix unemployed graduates. But Ghana itself has a background of unemployment. Though Old school alumni could sort out their young members.

tI is against this background that MOBA 1997 asked me whether I had kids or / and plus a wife. It is in the best interest of MOBA 1997 to know whether I have a girlfriend if not married now because they would definitely donate a huge sum of money at my wedding and would (if not all of members) greatly represent me physically at my wedding.

We all know money cannot buy love. You can’t wait until you have your posh car and house before you can start asking a few of your ladies friends you trust if you could come and see their parents. The parent of any woman you’re interested in should know you physically well, mentally well and pyschologically well. This is the background all the youths in Ghana find themselves in.

It takes faith now therefore to date someone of the opposite sex while in school and much harder faith to date a prospective spouse (hopeful) after school. This is because the after school life come with so many challenges . Earning 5000gh cedis a month as a permanent graduate employee does not assure a certainty as a starter that you could get married in a few years time. So what is the way out? Dialogue with the lady’s family or extended family is key. The ladies of today know fully well that all is not easy financially, professionally. Some would want to take higher degrees become doctorates before opening up to talk about marriage. Why? Money matters. The parents of ladies are also inquisitive to know a little bit whether the spouses their children get married to are kind hearted and whether they would pay some attention to them. Building speedy relationship when all your nuts are cracked on your job field doesn’t guarantee you security in entering into a successful marriage. So I have a dream. I dream that if I sacrifice Ghc1000 to woo a lady’s attention and to create an impression on her parents minds on the parents friends minds, on the minds of the extended family is a real business mogul decision.

Squeezing the little I have to shake the foundation of love , thoughtfulness and to captivate the attention of a lady’s family. Ok. Say the lady rejects the gift and it’s normal if any lady does. She gets to the extent of creating an impression to the whole world that I’m wrong and she doesn’t love me. Fair enough. This is better than MOBA 1997 realising later on that the lady the rallied behind me to get married to loves quarrels over time. That she fights me often and we’re always in the news or national media for notoriety for dissention and mistrust. KYC. Know Your Customer.

With due diligence know a lady you’re thinking of marrying. Before any financial support comes in. Let’s remember Ebenezer has just 18 years to retirement if employed this year. And would definitely lean on the generosity of an alumni, family, friends, co- workers, senior comrades and employers and society to make it so successful in life.

It is daring to take the bulls by the horns and face the facts. Being 41 years now implies that we look at his age mates nationally and society-wise rather than peg his age with the year he completed varsity or the year he began working as a permanent employee. This is the problem in Ghana. I worked with Quality Life Assurance for about 8 months or a little more with bare 500 for the first three months or less. And worked freely for the remaining months but since an old reverend minister kept calling me in the office and kept complaining so much about the situation my employers felt that though I had hopes that my sales policies would sell in the long term it was unwise to keep me on the job for too long without pay. I worked freely with Prudential Life Insurance company for about 2 or 3 months. I worked with Energy Bank now First Atlantic Bank for 2 months internship with pay. I worked with University of Ghana Credit Union for 3 months internship with pay. I taught in 4 basic schools from 2000 to 2003 with meagre pay.

Through all these I kept reading financial books, autobiographies, books on entrepreneurship, adviced many who successfully entered into business with business ideas, written about 8 books on Amazon, joined a multi media film and movie making company as a film actor but the film company owner went back to Nigeria not long after our first short series movie which is still online. And was aired on Agoo TV. I been on TV twice. Once for a poetry reading presentation. The other for a long interview. Through all these I discovered a passion for music and since MOBA 1997 is footing my medical bills what stops me from injecting a good chunk of the rejected Ghc1000 cedis into song production and promotion on air and on social media so when I realise breakthroughs I get back to my alumni family with my performance and lobby for an appropriate support, push and gigs.

Let’s remember every alma mater is globally promoted for what its alumni does and for how they perform in terms of employability on the job market and how the alumni become successful in life. Every SHS has a global ranking. The varsities too do.The question is how could institutions in Ghana perform better in terms of its worldwide or global ranking in the midst of the unemployment crisis of today. We are in competition with USA, China, Europe . I mean with the Americas in terms of the global rankings of the institutions where we once schooled. When would Mfantsipim rank among the Top 50 or 100 best high schools in the world? Let’s all take the bull by the horns and say yes we can. Together we can. Yes.

By Ebenezer K N Baiden-Amissah

P O Box LG 1254Legon Accra Ghana

Telephone 0245310380