Youth for Action (YFA), a youth advocacy group, has accused the John Mahama-led government of insensitivity, broken promises, and economic policies impoverishing Ghanaian youth.

Addressing the media at the Ghana International Press Centre, Accra, on Monday, May 12, 2025, the group’s Convenor, Isaac Acheampong, indicated that YFA stands in solidarity with thousands of young Ghanaians who have lost their jobs under the current administration, alleging the dismissals were politically motivated.

“We align ourselves with labour unions, civil society organisations, and well-meaning Ghanaians to say: never again should such acts be allowed to happen in our country,” he stated.

Unfulfilled promises

Mr. Acheampong mentioned the Mahama administration’s failure to implement its own flagship youth empowerment promise—the establishment of a Young Entrepreneurs Microcredit Institution with a seed fund of GH₵750 million, as detailed in paragraph (e) of the NDC’s Youth Manifesto.

The initiative, he said, was meant to provide affordable loans to youth-owned businesses but has been conspicuously missing from both government actions and the 2025 national budget.

He also accused the government of repackaging the previous administration’s “YouStart” program under a new name—Adwumawura—without offering anything new or substantial.

“The question we are asking today is simple: Mr President, where is the GHC750 million?

With all apologies to MTN, we ask, ‘Na sika no wɔ he?’” Acheampong quipped, invoking the popular Twi phrase meaning “Where is the money?”

Utility tariff

The convenor of YFA also condemned the recent increase in utility tariffs, describing the decision as a betrayal of the NDC’s promise to build a 24-hour industrial economy supported by affordable electricity. In April 2025, the government announced a 14.75% increase in electricity and a 4.02% rise in water tariffs, effective from May 3, even as public sector workers received only a 10% salary adjustment.

Mr. Acheampong cautioned that youths in the artisanal and informal sectors, including barbers, seamstresses, cold store operators, and other small-scale entrepreneurs, are bearing the brunt of these increases.

“It is appalling that a government barely five months into office has chosen to impoverish its people under the guise of IMF conditionalities,” he said.

The group disputed the administration’s justification that the IMF programme is responsible for the price hikes, pointing to a reduction in tariffs under the Akufo-Addo administration in March 2024, also during an IMF programme.

“How was Nana Addo able to reduce tariffs under the IMF, yet Mahama cannot?” Acheampong questioned.

oes in the cocoa sector

The group criticised NDC’s failure to honour its promise of increasing cocoa producer prices to GH₵6,000 per bag, a pledge made while in opposition. They argued that the issue affects the youth directly, as they play crucial roles along the cocoa value chain—from farmhands to traders.

Mr. Acheampong noted that many of the recently unemployed youth have turned to cocoa-related work for survival, further underlining the sector’s significance.

“The cocoa sector is not just about aged farmers—it’s about the youth whose futures are tied to the success of that industry,” he emphasised.

The convenor further called on civil society organisations, labour unions, student bodies, and the general public to collectively pressure the government to reduce utility tariffs, fulfil its youth-focused promises, and halt the ongoing job losses.

“Enough of the excuses and lamentations.

Mr Mahama, just do the needful,” Mr. Acheampong stated.

He also warned that the youth of Ghana will not remain silent in the face of what he described as misgovernance and betrayal.