Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has urged President John Dramani Mahama to take swift and decisive action to address Ghana’s growing unemployment challenge, warning that the situation poses a threat to national stability.
Speaking at the 59th Congregation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on Saturday, November 29, the Asantehene also renewed his call for the German government to support and invest in Ghana’s Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
“We are all aware of the unemployment situation in this nation. It was on that basis that I raised the issue when the German President and Ambassador paid a courtesy call on me last month,” he said.
“I wish to reiterate my appeal to the German Government to support small and medium-scale industries. Unemployment is a major issue in the country. It is a national concern, and the President should take a keen interest in this critical issue,” he added.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II further urged the government to resolve staffing constraints at KNUST by granting financial clearance for the recruitment of additional personnel.
“Confronting this university is the issue of inadequate staffing. As the recent five-year cyclical review of our university by the Ghana Education Commission, I am told that the challenge of our unfavourable student-to-lecturer ratio was brought sharply into focus. The situation places a heavy strain on our educated, dedicated lecturers and threatens the quality of teaching and learning we provide,” he noted.
“I therefore appeal to the government to grant the necessary financial clearance for the recruitment of additional academic and administrative staff,” he concluded.
