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100,000 jobs needed yearly
Accra, Oct. 12, Ghanadot/GNA – A study on the job situation
in Ghana revealed that the country must be able to produce
at least 100,000 sustainable jobs every year for the next
ten years to get overcome unemployment.
Mr Akumba Ben Asamoaning, Country Representative of Amicus
Onlus, a non governmental organization with the objective of
directing young people into productive and income generating
activities said on Friday.
He said the study carried out by Amicus Onlus recognized
that in spite of efforts to create jobs, unemployment
remained a problem to grapple with everyday.
“There is therefore the need to examine again the issue of
job creation from a new perspective. The time has come for
us to embrace change in our quest to create jobs. Ghana
needs to embrace the new world order.”
Mr. Asamoaning was speaking at the Third Amicus Youth
Empowerment Summit 2007 which focused on enhancing the
youth’s knowledge about entrepreneurial skills and business
opportunities.
“The main goal of Amicus Youth Empowerment Summit was, is
and will always be to provide a platform that will inform
and educate our youth on how to create jobs, but most
importantly to avoid destructive and debilitating
attitudes.”
He pointed out that the government alone could not create
jobs but could put in place sound and bold policies to
guarantee a bright future.
Mr. Asamoaning urged the youth to understand their role in
the development of their future and said we can not afford
to disappoint our forefathers who fought with their tears,
blood and lives to give as this nation.
Nana Akomea, Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment,
observed that the impact of Ghana’s economic growth on
employment had been slow hence the introduction of the
National Youth Employment Programme to help solve the
unemployment problem, especially among the youth.
He pointed out that there was a correlation between economic
growth and employment generation, however the country’s
economy need to grow by eight percent to be able to generate
the desired employment growth rate.
Nana Akomea said government was poised to facilitate quality
human resource development with focus on the youth and
mentioned that a draft youth policy and action plan were
being drawn by carefully selected youth and it would be
taken to cabinet by the end of the year.
He said the sector Ministry had been involved in skills and
leadership training through the National Vocational
Technical Institute (NVTI) and the National Youth Council in
a bid to help reduce unemployment among the youth.
The Minister mentioned the community policing, teaching and
nursing programmes under the NYEP as interim measures being
taken by government to reduce unemployment and said so far,
103,000 youth have been employed through the programme.
Touching on entrepreneurship, Nana Akomea said under the new
educational reform students at the junior and senior high
schools as well as those in tertiary institutions would take
a compulsory course in entrepreneurship regardless of the
subject of study to equip them to set up their own
businesses when they were out of school
Mr. Herman Chinery-Hesse, Chief Executive Officer of Soft
Tribe Limited, a renowned computer software firm, however
said that government could not create jobs, explaining that
the role of government was to facilitate the development of
private businesses.
He said there was numerous opportunities in the country to
make any individual start a business, “every solution to a
problem is a potential job and wealth creation venture.”
Mr. Chinery-Hesse urged the youth not to depend on
government for jobs or stay at home waiting for employment
opportunities since starting a business only depended on the
will and not money at one’s disposal.
“As a country we need to get more people paying taxes,” he
said instead of every body depending on the government to
earn a salary.
He said Africa was doing only about two percent of global
business even though there were a lot of natural resources,
skills and talents that could be explored.
“There is a hunger for African products in Europe,” he said
and urged the youth to be up and doing.
GNA
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