Promote Growth In Private Sector – TUC Urges Gov’t

A Director General at the Ghana Labour College of Trade Union Congress, Dr. Kwabena Otoo has called on government to assist in promoting growth in the Private Sector.

He said this would help create jobs and reduce the high rate of unemployment in the country.

In a panel discussion on Job Creation for Unemployed Youth at a forum organized by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) on Wednesday, he said “The Private Sector in Ghana is so badly beaten even on the domestic market yet we are here propounding theories on export led industrialization.”

The New Patriotic Party government, with the promise to address job creation challenges, has introduced some key policy statements.

These are the One district one factory, Planting for food and job, One village one dam, amongst others.

However, the Trade Union Congress has criticized these policy statements.

According to Dr. Otoo, the economic policy is so structured that it does not promote job creation.

He said the current policy frame work provides an incentive for people to go the easiest way, hence has implications for job creation.

“The incentives structure must change. It must push business people to areas of the economy that creates value and jobs,” he advised.

Touching on Agriculture, he said “Our policy makers do not explain to our young ones that there are number of things you can do in agriculture beyond a tilling.”

He mentioned that it falls on government to properly map the agriculture value chain for us to know at what point within that value chain there is striving business, and how young entrepreneurs would be assisted to take advantage of those business.

By: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum/ [email protected]