Member of Parliament for Sissala East, Mohammed Issah Bataglia, is calling for the decentralisation of national recruitment exercises to prevent future tragedies like the deadly stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium.
The dreams of six young Ghanaian job seekers were shattered following a tragic stampede during a military recruitment exercise at El-Wak.
Speaking to Tutuwaa on Starr Today, the lawmaker said bringing the process closer to the regions would ease congestion, ensure fairness, and save lives during future nationwide recruitments.
“There have been several reflections about the things that happen to us and how we react to them. I think once again, we’ve been hit hard as a people; even at a time when we were just trying to conclude discussions about what happened on August 6th, remember? And that too was under the umbrella of the military, which also happened on a Wednesday.” He stated.
He added that he once stated on a radio station that “If you catalogue all the major tragedies that have hit us, most of them occurred on a Wednesday. So perhaps, Wednesday should become a day of reflection. May 9th as well. We have June 3rd, and even the collapse of the Melcom at Achimota happened on a Wednesday.
Clearly, we’ve suffered repeated blows on that day, and we can only pray that the affected families find strength; especially those who lost their loved ones. Imagine having your child leave home hopeful of securing a job, only to be called later to identify a body at the hospital. That is heartbreaking; absolutely heartbreaking.”
According to the Sissala East MP, it’s quite sad, but the leadership exhibited by the President is also commendable, as “he was scheduled to travel to Kumasi for a launch at that time, but had to cut that trip short to return and attend to the victims before continuing his journey. That, I believe, has brought some relief to the affected families… Going forward, I’m sure proper measures will be put in place.”
He further hinted on the fact that this tragedy exposes a stark reality of the growing challenge of youth unemployment in the country; how many young people are desperately seeking jobs, and the urgent need to look at this issue critically to ease the pressure on society.
“It’s a danger every parliamentarian and politician must acknowledge. We cannot continue on this path; having most of our youth idle and frustrated. It poses a real threat to our social stability.
Do I think we should make use of technology in these recruitment processes? Absolutely. And we must also push for further decentralization. Even though recruitment happens across the 16 regions, it can go further down to the district and municipal levels. That would help reduce the pressure and prevent overcrowding at a single location. Going forward, these are the lessons we must take seriously so that such tragedies never happen again.” He concluded.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Benjamin Sackey
