The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said despite the government creating 2.1 million jobs for the youth in the past seven years, there is more to be done for the many young people who need jobs due to Ghana’s growing youthful population.
Speaking at the launch of the YEA’s latest job and business support initiative, the Business and Employment Assistance Programme in Sunyani on Monday, Dr Bawumia said the launch of the programme and other initiatives demonstrated the government’s commitment to job creation.
“This programme (Business and Employment Assistance Programme) is a testament to our government’s focus on job creation,” Dr Bawumia said.
“Unemployment was a real problem and we even had the unemployment graduate association. Our focus, therefore, was to improve job creation through the public and private sector,” he said.
“So far, we have recruited in the private and public sectors 2.1m jobs; 975 by the private sector and 1.2m by the public sector. The data is there and this cannot be disputed.
“I can say with all humility that no government in the history of the 4th Republic has done this (created 1.2m jobs) and this cannot be challenged. It is the hard fact,” Dr Bawumia stressed.
“We have done a lot in terms of job creation but we still have a lot more to do because the youth constitute the majority of the population.
“Even though we have recruited 2.1m, we still have to do more and we will do more because there are many more youth who need jobs. About 70% of Ghana’s population is the youth,” he noted.
Dr Bawumia also spoke of the importance of the youth to the nation.
“The youth of this country are our greatest resource and it is our collective duty to ensure that they are well-positioned to make significant contributions to the economic development of our dear nation,” he added.
The Business and Employment Support Programme would help MSMEs grow by supporting skilled workers financially and hiring more youth through young entrepreneurs to sustain and expand small and medium scale businesses.
In all, about 10,000 businesses and 20,000 youth will benefit from the YEA’s Business and Employment Assistance Programme.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
