Ghana’s government has unveiled a plan to empower its youthful population, which holds the key to the country’s economic development. It also could hold the key to keeping terrorism at bay.
According to the World Data Lab, in 2024 an estimated 6.9 million people in northern Ghana lived in extreme poverty, defined at a threshold of living on or below $2.15 a day. Youth unemployment has risen across the country, and most of the employed have low-paying and unstable jobs that offer little or no long-term security.
“This is a national security risk, and we must tackle it aggressively,” George Opare Addo, who leads the newly created Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, told The Africa Report magazine. “We’ve paid lip service to young people for too long. This new ministry ensures that young people contribute meaningfully to the country’s development.”
The threat of terrorism spilling from the restive Sahel region has cast a shadow over Ghana for years. Its neighbor to the north, Burkina Faso, has lost control of more than half its territory, as an al-Qaida-linked coalition of terrorist groups known as JNIM has established itself.
In 2024, a JNIM leader told Radio France Internationale that it aimed to push into Benin, Ghana and Togo. Unlike Benin and Togo, Ghana has never suffered a major terror attack.
Experts warn that militants frequently cross the vast, porous border into northern Ghana to recruit in local communities.
“It is not just an area where they can rest and get supplies,” Aaron Atimpe, a researcher on preventing violent extremism, told Reuters. “In the process, people are being radicalized and recruited.”
Kojo Impraim, Director of Media for Peace and Sustainable Development at the Accra-based Media Foundation for West Africa, has long advocated against a military-only strategy for northern Ghana.
“A whole-of-the-society approach is required to prevent or counter violent extremism,” he wrote in a 2024 opinion piece for Ghanian news website Joy Online. “This entails a combination of kinetic security and soft governance approaches. The government of Ghana has signaled its commitment to preventing the threat of violent extremism. The kinetic or the traditional security approach requires complementary soft governance tactics to build community resilience.”
Sherif Ghali, who leads the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs, was pleased to see the creation of the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment.
“It’s a step into the right direction,” he told Ghanaian television station Joy News in a February 5 interview. “But now what George Opare Addo should do is look at all that they promised: youth entrepreneurship, innovation skills, digital skills training, mental health.”
Addo said a national apprenticeship program will be the centerpiece of the government’s employment strategy, designed to train young people to meet the needs of a shifting labor market worldwide. He also cited the rise of artificial intelligence and automation as threats to traditional jobs.
“The African Union’s technological strategic report projects that between 2025 and 2030, Africa will require over 20 million jobs in the digital space,” he said. “If we don’t prepare our youth now, we will be left behind.”
Ghana also plans to train 1 million coders over the next four years to meet rising global demand for software development. Ghali hopes the new ministry will do a better job of coordinating all of the government’s youth initiatives.
“Every ministry has a component to deal with the youth, but there is not that point where they all synchronize or coordinate their efforts,” he said. “The problem is that there is no way to coordinate. There is no way to report, so everybody is doing what they can do in silos.”
Professor Justice Bawole, dean of the University of Ghana Graduate Business School, has analyzed the new government initiatives and echoed some of Ghali’s concerns.
“[This plan is] commendable in addressing youth-centric issues, but it falls short in critical areas such as funding adequacy, measurable outcomes and active youth engagement in policy implementation,” Bawole told The Africa Report. “Our youth are tired and frustrated at the lack of opportunities to realize their dreams and aspirations. Unfortunately, progress has been sluggish and intangible. To maintain the faith and trust of our citizens … we must provide employment opportunities for our youth.”