Convener of the OneGhana Movement and Trustee of the Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey, Senyo Hosi, has criticised the requirement for young applicants to pay fees before securing a chance in the country’s security services.

Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews, Mr Hosi argued that, given the scale of youth unemployment, no one should have been asked to make payments upfront in order to participate in the recruitment process.

“I am really worried. It is insensitive on the part of the government, knowing all this data has been there, to even dare to ask any of these people a dime for any government job. Nobody should ask any of these children a single one of them to apply to work for this country when we have failed them,” he said.

“Where is the realisation of the liberties and prosperity — the very reason we created this form of governance, which we call democracy under the 1992 Constitution — when we have 33.4 per cent of our youth unemployed?” he asked.

Read also: If I were president, I wouldn’t sleep over youth unemployment – Senyo Hosi

“Our employed people in this country, over two-thirds are vulnerably employed, with no social protections around any form of employment. So, in real terms, there is almost no employment. The youth who are properly employed are just about 21 per cent,” he added.

He emphasised the scale of the challenge, saying that if he were president, he “wouldn’t be able to sleep” knowing the frustration and disappointment faced by so many young people vying for limited positions.