By: Kobina Baidoo
The flagbearer of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr. Hassan Ayariga has criticized the inclusion of sports betting tax scraps in proposed youth development policies of the ruling government and opposition NDC.
Speaking at the unveiling of his running mate, Dr. Samuel Walanyo Mensah, on September 4, 2024, at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall, Dr. Ayariga condemned the recent controversies surrounding the introduction and proposed withdrawal of the sports betting tax.
“The future of Ghana is the youth, and where are the youth? They are gamblers; that is the future we have given the youth,” Ayariga lamented.
He expressed his displeasure with both the current government and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), for prioritizing debates over betting tax instead of addressing more pressing issues affecting the nation’s youth.
“You have to manage an economy where people can live comfortably, not where people are suffering; the government is endorsing it, the opposition is endorsing it, and now the youth bet on a daily basis,” he added.
Dr. Ayariga warned that the future of the nation is at risk due to what he described as a lack of clear vision for the youth. “Why are we turning our kids into gamblers? Because we have no vision for them, and they are satisfied with it because they see no future,”