Government will have to step up measures aimed at addressing social exclusiveness in order to curb the high unemployment levels in the country.
This is according to findings in Ghana’s Country Profile 2016, conducted by the United Nations’(UN) Economic Commission for Africa.
Although findings from the report show some level of improvement in addressing the issue of social exclusiveness, Acting Government Statistician, Baah Wadie says government policies should focus more on addressing issues of poverty and illiteracy to adequately deal with the situation.
“If for example people are illiterate, it means that there are certain high end jobs and skills that they don’t have. They won’t also be able to do certain jobs. So that is one area that we have to note”, Mr. Baah Wadie said at the launch of the report.
“So if you want to reduce exclusion, we have to pay attention to youth unemployment in particular as well as improving people’s literacy levels and skills, so that they can participate better in the economy”, he added.
Mr. Wadie observed that government must target its social intervention programmes at people in the poverty bracket.
“We also have to look at areas where poverty is still high so that we can put in the interventions that will bring down poverty and ensure that they can also enjoy the benefits of development”.
Meanwhile, Social Affairs Officer, with the Economic Commission for Africa Dr. Jack Jones Zulu advised government to implement policies that will benefit both males and females.
He warned that there must be a deliberate policy to also improve the standard of living of male children in the country.
“The index is giving us the absolute number in terms of what is happening to males or females. So basically it’s telling us that in terms of policy interventions there are things that you are not doing to address the factors that affect men. In other words, you are leaving men behind in your development. So you need to focus or balance your development interventions, that is what the index is telling us. So, policy interventions must be diversified to address the needs of both males and females”.
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By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana