A Civil Society Organization based in the Asokore Mampong Municipality, No Business as Usual (NBU) Project has indicated that the multiple election violence recorded in the New Zongo community, is as a result of illiteracy and unemployment among most of the young people living in the area.

New Zongo, a settler community in the Asokore Mampong Municipality has remained a hot bed for electoral violence as most of the youth in the area are submissive to politicians.

The body is using the power of community engagements to educate the youth on the negative impacts of election violence on their communities.

Speaking during a community engagement on Saturday 10th October, 2020, Mr. Gariba Baba the project assistant with the NBU has cited illiteracy and unemployment as the underlying factors leading many of the young people into indulging in violent acts.

He insisted that several young persons are wandering in the municipality without gainful employment, which he sees as worrisome.

According to him politicians use such a setback to convince some of the youth into unscrupulous activities during elections.

He noted: “If our youth are not engaged in gainful employment any leader who comes and give them even meagre amounts, they will take it and do what is not necessary, so if they are gainfully employed or educated they will not think about anything like that, thereby reducing election violence.”

Mr. Gariba however appealed to government to support Civil Society Organizations in the country to train dozens of the teeming unemployed youth to learn a skill.

He described the act of young people abusing narcotic drugs as a result of illiteracy.

“If many of these people are trained and educated, they will get to know that there are better opportunities ahead than what they are doing now,” he added.

The Asokore Mampong Municipal Director of the NCCE Matthew Agbenu flagged unemployment and narcotic drug abuse among the youth as the key factors fuelling electoral violence in the area.

He stated, “If the youth do not get work to do, meanwhile they also need money to live, anyone who approaches them, they will honor that person’s invitation and take meagre amounts, thereby going around fermenting trouble in their favour.”

He further cautioned the youth to resist offers from politicians as that will influence them to cause mayhem during and after elections.

By Fatawu Bayaga