The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, has described the government’s new flagship programme Entrepreneurship Jobs for All (E-jobs4All) as a beacon of hope, a catalyst for change and a commendable approach to addressing unemployment.
He said that the programme is a five-year training programme aimed at building the innovative and entrepreneurial capacities of 10,000 young people in mining communities that form part of the government’s initiative to provide decent jobs for the youth from the mining regions of the country.
The Minister said this at the launch of the programme in Accra on Tuesday.
He said the initiative’s objective is to combat unemployment and is also meant to empower young people, encourage creativity and unlock the potential that exists in mining communities.
He added that the purpose of the programme was to provide the beneficiaries with the knowledge, abilities and resources they would need to mould, carve and transform ideas into successful businesses.
“Through this programme, we do not only seek to impart knowledge but cultivate a mindset of innovation and entrepreneurship in our people. We recognised that true empowerment rests not only in creating employment but also instilling the ethos of self-reliance. That is why the programme has been designed to build entrepreneurs who can navigate the complexities of business and become job creators,” he said.
According to Mr Jinapor, the historical underdevelopment of mining communities continues to be a challenge.
He stated that the government has carried out different interventions to develop communities with mining revenue through the Minerals Development Fund and other alternative livelihood programmes that are implemented by the Minerals Commission.
He said the government was working with mining corporations to ensure that they made a significant contribution to the development of their host communities.
The Coordinator of the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), Dr Louise Carol Serwaa Donkor, noted that the initiative aims to promote sustainable and resilient entrepreneurship in mining communities by stimulating the expansion of existing firms.
She stated that E-Jobs4All would foster an atmosphere in which unemployed youth may apply their skills and ambitions to help their communities grow.
Only Ghanaian youth are eligible to apply for the programme and the recipients must be aspiring entrepreneurs.
E-Jobs4All is one of the modules under the NAELP, implemented by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in partnership with the Queen’s University, Leadogo Incorporated Canada, and the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Development Initiative (CEDI Ghana).
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
