By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani (Bono), May 01, GNA – The Global Media Foundation (GloMeF), a civil society organisation has urged the government to tackle the growing youth unemployment rate in the country to stem cybercrimes and related online scams.
As the nation marks the annual Workers Day (May Day) celebration, Mr Godlove Ahenu, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GloMeF, expressed worry that unemployment and economic hardships had driven many young Ghanaians into cyber-crime and fraudulent activities online.
He said the problem of get-rich syndrome, popularly known as ‘Sakawa’ was assuming alarming proportion among the youth in the country.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Sunyani, Mr Ahenu, also an international human rights actor, regretted that cybercrime and related online fraud was now sophisticated, with many unsuspecting people falling prey to it.
“Equally troubling is the increase in cases of sextortion and digital sexual abuses. Many young girls are lured into unsafe online relationships or blackmailed after sharing intimate content”.
That often devastates personal and psychological consequences,” Mr Ahenu stated, worrying that the absence of enforceable data protection laws and reporting systems further complicates the trend.
“It’s important not to lose sight of the transformative potential of digital tools. In recent years, young Africans have mobilized powerful online campaigns for social change and these movements ought to be supported”.
Mr Ahenu called on the government to prioritise the development of robust digital governance framework that safeguarded the rights without stifling innovation, calling for support policymakers, educators, tech companies, and the civil society.
The governments must enact and enforce data protection laws, cybercrime regulations, child online safety acts, and codes of conduct for tech platforms.
Mr Ahenu said, “digital citizenship must be embedded into school curricula to teach youth how to navigate online spaces responsibly and safely,” underscoring the need to empower young people to co-create the policies that govern their digital rights.
He said Ghana’s digital future remained brighter, however it ought to be built on a foundation of rights, responsibility, and regulation.
Mr Ahenu said it was time for Ghana to act decisively, to ensure that the internet became a tool of empowerment rather than a trap of exploitation for the next generation.
GNA
DEN/CAA