Labour analyst, Senyo Agyabeng, has urged the government to provide a roadmap for delivering its one million jobs agenda.
In Ghana, available data indicates that 600,000 people out of the total labour force of over 12 million are not employed.
Analysts have warned that the figure may go up if interventions are not put in place.
Key among all the promises in budget statements by governments over the years has been job creation.
In the most recent mid-year budget review, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced the government’s ‘one million jobs’ initiative, which was initially hinted at by President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The Minister said this intervention is a deliberate move by the government to empower the youth in order to ensure economic growth.
He also noted that the government, as part of its recovery programme and transformation agenda, is easing the constraints on the private sector to enable them to expand and provide jobs for the youth.
Sharing his thoughts on these promises, Labour analyst, Senyo Agyabeng, opines that these initiatives being promised by the government should be able to produce sustainable jobs for the youth and not temporary ones.
“Indeed some jobs are being created except that for example, in the agric sector, the 700 jobs were not permanent jobs, so they passed away very quickly. What we should be looking out for are sustainable jobs, jobs that really provide enough financial security over a long period of time for the people who would be engaged in those jobs,” he stated.
Mr. Adjabeng also demanded specific details and timelines as to how and when these initiatives will be rolled out.
“We say that we are creating jobs, but when we interrogate, we don’t find the details. Where are the jobs coming from, what specific sectors are they going to come from, what are the specific quantities and the types of jobs so that people who are able to apply for these jobs will do that,”
