Unemployed graduates charge

The Unemployed Graduates Association of Ghana (UGAG) has reiterated its call to the ruling NDC government to create meaningful jobs for them.

In a press statement issued last Monday and signed by Bernard Armah, the Press Coordinator, the group made it clear that though they welcome the assurance by government to create jobs, they maintained that over half a million of unemployed graduates in this country are still without jobs.

“We welcome this as a respite but we still want to remind the President and the people of Ghana that the over half a million unemployed graduates in Ghana still do not have jobs to do. As a matter of fact we are keenly waiting for the jobs that are to be created for the benefit of UGAG members and the youth of Ghana at large,” the statement said.

In the firm opinion of UGAG, government is the largest employer and “it needs to act aptly by embarking on a massive job creation through the creation of enabling environment or avenues across the country. Until this is done, any air-conditioner ivory-tower approach will not take us out of the pit. We demand action now!”

According to the statement, lives of the unemployed graduates have become bleak after spending close to 3-4 years at the various tertiary institutions.
This, UGAG attributed to the fact that its members always have to take pains to walk from one office to the other in search of non-existence jobs.
“The truth is that, our members always walk from one office to another all in search of unavailable jobs on daily basis. Our shoes are now deformed as a result of the undue walking; our two shirts have also washed out,” the group lamented.
Along that line, the statement stressed that members of UGAG can no longer bear the pressures from their various families.
“We can no longer endure the pressure from our families who after spending on our education are still not getting any return from us, hence their decision not to continue spending on us. We are not doing anything meaningful for this country; our contribution to the society has been zilch. It is depressing that most of our members are now lodging with friends because they can no longer contain family demands,” the statement added.

Again, it urged members of UGAG to remain calm but focused on its agenda, which is ‘‘to impel government and all stakeholders to create meaningful jobs for the youth especially, the unemployed graduate.’’ We are much aware that some politicians are deceitfully trying to lure some of our members for their political advantage. We wish to emphasize here and now that, UGAG is a non-political interest group and our aim is quite clear to all. We shall accept nothing but JOBS and JOBS alone because we are dying!”

The group further entreated its members to develop themselves to the best of their abilities whiles “we count on government and all stakeholders to create jobs and the enabling environment for job creation.”

It would be recalled that on Thursday, April 14th, 2011 H.E. President John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills assured all unemployed graduates that he is going to create jobs in the country.
This was after UGAG members had come out with an earlier statement asking government to create jobs for unemployed graduates in the country.