The Mankrado of Gomoa Beseadze in the Gomoa Central District of the Central Region, Nana Edua Okoraman VI has attributed the high rate of poverty in his area to lack of jobs in the District. Speaking to ghananews247.com, he said the situation remains a major concern to the Chiefs in the area.
According to him, the situation has forced the majority of the people in the town, including the youth to migrate to other forest areas to engage in peasant farming, as well as the urban areas to look for non-existent jobs. Nana Okoraman, who was speaking with emotion also hinted that over 70 percent of the youth have no secondary education, with less than 5 percent in tertiary institutions.
This, he blamed on the parents inability to cater for the education of their children because of lack of jobs, as they are all engaged in peasant farming and therefore can not afford to support the education of their children.
This situation, according to ghananews247.com investigation has led to a high rate of teenage pregnancy among girls in the town, as the District is rated one of the most prevalent areas of teenage pregnancy in the country.
The town also lack basic social amenities such as a public place of convenience, potable source of drinking water, a refuse dumping site and access roads. Currently, the town has only one stand pipe serving the whole community.
Nana Okoraman also expressed fear of possible outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Cholera because of the lack of a public place of convenience in the town.
He has therefore appealed to the government and other non-governmental organizations to come to the aid of the town and offer the youth some training in employable vocational skills to help remedy the situation. Further investigation by ghananews247.com also revealed that about 60 percent of the aged in the town suffer from various acute diseases but could not go for treatment because of lack of funds.