{"id":376628,"date":"2017-11-23T08:07:42","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T08:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=376628"},"modified":"2017-11-23T08:10:38","modified_gmt":"2017-11-23T08:10:38","slug":"well-stop-illegal-migration-with-strong-economy-nana-addo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/11\/well-stop-illegal-migration-with-strong-economy-nana-addo\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019ll stop illegal migration with strong economy \u2013 Nana Addo"},"content":{"rendered":"
President Nana Akufo-Addo has vowed to reverse the trend of illegal migration from Ghana by building a sound economy with opportunities for all.<\/p>\n
The trend he bemoans is increasingly becoming a national security concern hence the resolve to work towards ending same.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”spFfU2Ho0kxg8HRHfFx5ZxklyQMzuz6B”]Many continue to move out to the Gulf countries under extremely\u00a0painful conditions ostensibly in search of jobs and better conditions of life.<\/p>\n
In an address at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, the President said no Ghanaian should have to go through that life-threatening ordeal.<\/p>\n
“There have always been adventurous Ghanaians who would go out and try their luck in other parts of the world but the periods of economic collapse turned our country into places of wholesale emigration,\u201d the President noted.<\/p>\n
Using Italy and Libya, two major transit points of illegal migration, as an example, since 2014, more than 400,000 African migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.<\/p>\n
A total of 5,636 Ghanaian migrants reached Italy by boat in 2016, up 27% from 2015, and as\u00a0at April 2017, 823 Ghanaians arrived in Italy for this year alone.<\/p>\n
The Brong Ahafo Region has been identified as the region where most youth embark on illegal migration through the Sahara Desert to Europe, according to statistics from the International Organisation for Migration.<\/p>\n
Diagnosing this problem and its solution, the President noted that: “Widespread unemployment, especially among the youth, the greatest segment of our population as in all African countries, represents the greatest threat to our democracy and stability. Only a performing and rapidly and expanding economy that generates jobs can provide an urgent solution.\u201d<\/p>\n