Nana Akufo-Addo's speech to the TUC on Jobs

ADDRESS ON JOB CREATION DELIVERED TO TUC CONGRESS ON TUESDAY, 12th AUGUST, 2008, BY THE NPP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO MP

INTRODUCTION:

Mr Chairman, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to address you this evening. One of the most important figures in my life has been my uncle, Frederick Guggisberg Asante, Fred Asante to the members of this movement, who is now a member of the Council of State and who has been a veteran trade unionist for over four decades. He has always symbolized for me the important place of working people in our society. Since this is my first opportunity to address you in such a forum, let me use this platform to thank the TUC for the great role that your organisation and its members played in our nation’s struggle for independence and in its subsequent development. The Ghanaian people remain indebted to persons like Anthony Woode, Pobee Biney, Vidal Quist, John Tettegah and others for their outstanding contribution to the liberation of our nation from imperialism. I am confident that this generation of labour leaders will also leave their own indelible marks on the history of our country as it seeks to fulfil the dreams of freedom and prosperity that animated the founders of Ghanaian nationalism.

We know that, Chairperson, this evening, I plan to discuss with you, how together, we can work to create the jobs of tomorrow. Today, the face of labour is quite different from what it was a few decades ago. The era of antagonistic relationships with government and management is passé. Across the globe, in country after country, globalisation and the forces it has unleashed have made it imperative that workers, managements and governments stand shoulder-to-shoulder in working to improve wages, productivity and competitiveness while creating jobs.

Perhaps, nothing speaks more eloquently to the improved relations between government, labour and management than the new Labour Act, passed in 2003 after years of collaboration. This law is rightly hailed as one of the most progressive in the World. The Labour Commission established by this Act is already being tested. In the next few years, the courts will clarify any ambiguities as may exist and set the limits of authority as different players pursue legal remedies in relationship to decisions made by the body.

I support changes that will impose punitive damages on parties that choose to appeal the ruling of the Commission in court and are not sustained. It is my fervent hope that the courts will not take over the development of this Act, much as we want to entrench the rule of law in our society. My party and I hope that the development of this Act will be characterised by the spirit of mediation, conciliation and accommodation that permeates the Act and not by reliance on excessive legalisms . It is important that the new Labour Commission acquires quickly a national character. To that end, I pledge that my government will work with labour to make this Commission truly national by helping to extend it to the regions. My goal is to work with you to establish a Commission office in each region.

Furthermore, I believe the Tripartite Committee must meet more frequently and work more collaboratively on issues of general concern to all of us. I am informed that there are now more frequent meetings by the Committee and I support this new trend fully. I believe that the Tripartite Committee should have a more significant role in our economic management than merely settling the minimum wage on the eve of budgets. To facilitate this increased role, during my Presidency, the Committee will meet on a quarterly basis so that the Tripartite Committee becomes an important partner for the management of the national economy.

THEME OF CONGRESS

Chairperson, the theme of this very important congress “SOCIAL WELFARE” is very apt. The welfare of our general society, of women, children and the vulnerable should be of concern to all. While my party, the New Patriotic Party, believes passionately in the merits of free markets and competition, we recognize that the demands of social justice require that the vulnerable in society are protected by the state. That is why we have put in place, over the last seven-and-a-half years a comprehensive Social Protection Strategy.

Over the last seven-and-half years, the NPP has compiled a record in social interventions that will serve as a standard for responsible governmental activism for years to come. In education, at the primary level, the NPP introduced the School Feeding Programme and the Capitation Grant and built new schools while repairing old ones. As a result, enrolment in primary school has increased by 30%, representing the largest increase in primary school enrolment for several decades. In healthcare, we introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme in 2003 over the objections of the Opposition and to date; 11.3 million Ghanaians have registered for it .Cash and carry is mercifully being buried in Ghana forever. Furthermore, last July, the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, secured funds from the British government to fund free care for pregnancy and the post-delivery period for both mothers and their newborn.The NHIS has since July 1st started to implement this laudable initiative which will help reduce drastically our high maternal and infantry mortality rates . Under our Social Protection Strategy, we have introduced the “Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), which is a grant programme for poor households. These grants, between 8 and 15 Ghana cedis, currently affects 3,200 hundred families and will affect 15,000 families by the end of the year.

As a result of all these and other interventions, coupled with the increasingly rapid growth of our economy, poverty rates have plunged from 39.5% in 2000 to 28.5% today. Chairperson, my party and I believe that we must each be our brother’s keeper and we have been living your theme for the last seven and a half years in government.

Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, these social intervention programmes have been possible because of our impressive management of the economy. As you know, we have quadrupled the size of our economy, from 3.9 to 15 billion USD while reducing interest rates and inflation. This has been done against a background of significant increases in fuel and food prices that have caused major social upheavals in a lot of developing countries.

It is against this background that many believe with us that with the additional resources from an expanding economy and expanding tax revenues as well as projected substantial revenues from our new oil wealth, retaining my party in government is our country’s best option for realising the goals of your theme.

NPP GOALS

Chairperson, in my address to the KNUST here in Kumasi on energy, to the AGI on our Industrial Policy, at ALISA HOTEL under the auspices of the IEA and at the UDS in Tamale, I have discussed various aspects of the challenges of providing energy, building our industries, modernising agriculture and creating jobs.

As you may recall, when I inaugurated the 2008 NPP Campaign Committee in Accra on March 13th, I indicated that the next NPP government would focus on four central thematic areas:

• first, the consolidation of our democracy • second, the modernisation of our society • third, the structural transformation of our economy, and • fourth, the full engagement of our nation in the process of regional and continental Integration.

Chairperson, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, that day, I pledged my party to the structural transformation of our economy by: - focusing on the production of Value added goods and services rather than primary products - pursuing a clear policy of Ghanaian Economic Empowerment that will encourage the accumulation and investment of Ghanaian capital, locally and from the Diaspora, and making more Ghanaians winners in the Global economy - investing a significant percentage of our GDP in Research and Development (R&D) - making the formal sector more attractive to the majority of local economic operators

Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, the steps outlined here, as well as those involved in the modernisation of our society and our participation in the process of regional and continental integration, will all create well-paying jobs and bring prosperity to our country. However, before returning to the issue of job-creation, permit me to address some issues that are of importance to labour and indeed all our citizens.

CHILD LABOUR

Chairperson, all of us, the ILO, governments, and activists are concerned about child labour. Ghana has ratified all the applicable international conventions and passed the Children’s Act of 1998. Child Labour is a problem that must be addressed in a manner consistent with our international obligations and in the context of our history. It is regrettable that some poor adults permit their children to undertake activities that affect their health, education and development negatively, mainly because of their lack of awareness about the rights of children.

I believe that our children must be in school, learning to be the productive workers and citizens of tomorrow who can earn a living wage and only perform child work, which prepares the child for the future while attending school. The daily spectacle of children, standing beside the roads in our cities and hawking all manner of things when they should be in school must affront our dignity and spur us to action. We must act by providing sufficient schools to educate them freely, with meals and supplies and have jobs that can pay living wages to their parents to support them without needing to put them to work or permitting them to work so early in their lives.

Indeed, the NPP government has already had a significant impact in reducing child labour through the introduction of the School Feeding Program and the Capitation Grant that have combined to increase primary school enrolment by 30%. Indeed, during a survey in 15 cocoa-growing areas, enrolment in primary school was 89%. On the other hand, we must be careful not to interfere with the work of so many farmers who require and need their children outside school hours, on week-ends or during vacation to assist them in bringing in the harvest or doing other things on the farms that have been done by generations of children even while proper schooling was under way.

Despite the progress we have made, we must not rest. The next NPP government will work to build on the progress made.

CHALLENGES OF LABOUR

Chairperson, the challenges faced by working people in our society are clear; - low wages - lack of safety on the job - inadequate benefits and pensions Too often in the past, wages particularly in the public sector, have been based on budget statements, fuel prices and other indicators completely unrelated to productivity. This situation has led many times to tensions and on some occasions to confrontations. A few days ago, proposals on the single-spine salary structure were made public. I look forward to a constructive debate after which we can adopt their recommendations with the necessary modifications.

Addressing occupational hazards requires joint action by government, labour and management. Whether in a mine where workers face the danger of collapsing mines, in a quarry where they inhale small particles of dust or in a hospital where they face exposure to diseases, the protection of workers require concerted action by all; government, labour and management. There needs to be reasonable standards of Safety adhered to by industry and enforced by the relevant public agencies. The NPP and its government place very high premiums on the safety of workers. Therefore, the next government shall provide additional resources for more frequent and rigorous inspections by the inspectorate division of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.

JOB CREATION

Chairperson, I shall address the problems of Pensions and other benefits later but one of the major problems of our nation is how to create good, well-paying jobs in sufficient quantities for all those willing and able to work.

The NPP believes that the creation of jobs is largely the responsibility of the private sector and that governments only create the enabling environment for private actors to create wealth and jobs. All around the globe, it has been shown repeatedly that the private sector is a more effective engine of job-creation than the public sector.

However, as the Asian tigers have shown and I have indicated in the breath and depth of most of the initiatives that I have put forward in this campaign, I do not believe that government should be a passive partner in our economic transformation. I believe that government must actively seek partners, either from abroad or from the private sector and wherever necessary commit the relevant resources to create the necessary conditions or sometimes, the foundational relationships or industries that will help create the needed jobs. A government that is fully committed to free enterprise, should be able to act forcefully to create such markets and to find such partners.

It is clear that we cannot move our society to the first world status we crave without the creation of well-paying jobs that will give our people the means to improve their material conditions.

EDUCATION

Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, it is clear that education is the gateway to the high-paying jobs of the future. Today, we live in a world where the child being educated in Kumasi must see as his or her competitor the child born about the same time in Kuala Lumpur.

For our child to succeed, he must get a strong foundation in maths, science, accounting and technology. That is why despite a 30% increase in enrolment in our primary schools, we must now improve the quality of the education our children receive. We must end the outrages of nearly a quarter-of-a-million children being disgorged onto our streets by our school system every year without either the skills for work or a chance to continue their education. To redress this, we must improve teacher training. Then when teachers are in the field, we must constantly review their salaries, pay them housing and rural allowances, reduce class sizes and check absenteeism.

Next, as I have pledged, I will make Senior High School Education Free and accessible to all to give all our children a reasonable chance for higher education.

Furthermore, we shall invest in trade schools so that children who lack the academic wherewithal to enter tertiary institutions can learn trades like masonry, carpentry etc. To this end, the next NPP government will create Technology Colleges that will impart skills in fishery, tourism, mining, carpentry etc. These schools, with the necessary support from government and industry, can become inexhaustible sources of talent and ingenuity, producing the young men and women who will build the Ghana of tomorrow. For instance, the Technology College of Fishery will teach basic skills in fishing, mending nets, emergency procedures at sea and value-addition to marine products. These schools will be cited in areas of comparative advantages and their graduates given assistance to establish businesses of their own.

We shall increase access to Universities by building public Universities in all regions that have none and expanding the capacity of existing ones. This will mean new Universities in Volta, Brong Ahafo and Eastern Regions, together with expansions in existing ones with particular emphasis on UDS and the Tarkwa School of Mines.

In our third-cycle institutions, through the use of scholarships, we shall begin shifting the bulk of our students to studies in the field of science, technology, research and specialised fields like accounting and law while funding attachment programs to permit our students to attach to your work places and acquire work-place knowledge while in school. Our sons and daughters must be ready for the jobs of the new economy by training to be Mining Engineers, Petrochemical Engineers, and technicians in our oil fields and new industries and in the services that a more prosperous population will demand.

Chairperson, the NPP believes that the key to increasing productivity and higher wages in today’s economy is continuing skills upgrade coupled with the application of Technology. Therefore, my government will provide tuition assistance for workers to enhance their qualifications by expanding Workers College and by funding on-the-job skills training. We shall provide tax incentives for companies to fund the acquisition of skills by their employees and invest additional resources to expand it to 500 thousand.

The new, more productive, higher-paying jobs are coming and we plan to make you ready for them.

AGRICULTURE

Chairperson, despite our yearning for white-collar work, it is clear that for the foreseeable future, a significant portion of our population will continue to earn their living from Agriculture. The recent increases in food prices have brought home forcefully, the importance of food security to our population and economy. We must make them more productive and increase their income.

My government intends to make Ghana self-sufficient in food production and to embark on the promotion of significant value-addition to our primary agricultural products.

We shall spur agricultural productivity by - significant investments in irrigation and storage facilities, that combined with the necessary investments in physical and financial infrastructure will make the north, the granary of West Africa and significantly improve farm incomes while lowering the price of food for urban dwellers and workers. This will form the backbone of the Northern Development Authority with a 1 billion USD investment that will transform the North as I outlined in my speech in Tamale on the 24th of July, this year. - investments in Landing sites and storage facilities in our coastal fishing communities with a goal of making Ghana self-sufficient in fish and related products. - the training of more Agricultural Extension workers and the provision of higher-yielding seeds and other mass services that individual farmers on their own cannot afford along the cocoa model to increase productivity and incomes. - encouraging, through tax incentives and Public-Private-Partnerships, the development of agro-processing industries that will add significant value to our agricultural products while generating significant numbers of jobs. - assisting farmers and processors to find and develop markets at home, in our sub-region and in other parts of the world for their products. - assisting local areas in developing industries in which they have comparative advantages.

Our investments in agriculture will go hand in hand with investments in light industry that will be supported by the 1 billion USD Industrial Development Fund that has already been pledged as well as significant reductions in the corporate tax rates. The funds here are to enable Small and Medium Enterprises, which are the major creators of jobs around the world, do the same here.

HEAVY INDUSTRIES

Chairperson, my government plans to make significant investments in heavy industries that will serve as the foundation of our industries. Amongst these are energy, aluminium and limestone.

In energy, our electricity demand is expected to exceed 3000MW in 2015 and reach 4400 MW by 2020. Our petroleum demand is projected to grow from 1.6 million tonnes to about 4.5 million tonnes by 2020. Indeed, to meet the projected GDP Growth of 10 to 12 % that we need to reach middle-income status by 2020, we need an energy consumption growth rate of about twelve percent. Meeting these needs will require the construction of dams the exploitation of our new oil find and a host of other activities that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs for years to come.

To cap it all, the addition of value to our crude oil through refining and the development of a petrochemical industry will serve markets in the West Africa region while creating jobs here at home.

In Aluminium, Ghana has the ability to develop smelters that based on our natural endowments, can serve the quarter of a billion residents of West Africa for years to come.

The development of our limestone industry will significantly affect our ability to provide affordable housing for our citizens while making it possible to export to our neighbours.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Chairperson, the construction industry has the potential to modernise our country through the provision of major infrastructure, like roads, railways, ports and airports and to provide our people with affordable and decent housing. It is estimated that our country has a housing deficit of about one million homes that is growing by another hundred thousand each year. This situation is particularly acute in urban areas where a young couple starting out can hardly afford the very high rents and multiple-year advances demanded by landlords. All over the world, particularly in advanced economies, the housing industries are the backbone of economies. This is because a house is the most significant asset that most people acquire in their lives. This will be consistent with the NPP’s central goal of creating within decades, property-owning democracy.

I pledge my government to the construction of 50 thousand housing units per year at 20 thousand Ghana cedis per unit. Half of these will be rented out and half will be sold. In addition to government construction, my government will work with private constructors to accelerate the construction of private housing at more reasonable prices. These initiatives will create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

SELF-EMPLOYED INFORMAL SECTOR

Chairperson, it is no secret that a majority of our population are employed in the informal sector. Whether they are farmers, construction workers or self-employed businessmen and traders, too many of our citizens are in the informal sectors of our economy.

My Government will make a determined and sustained effort to bring them into our formal sector. This will be done through micro-credit schemes; certification programs and technical assistance together with skills upgrade programs. For example, there are nearly 200 thousand mechanics at the celebrated Suame Magazine. Already, the NPP government is offering them assistance to improve their infrastructure and to upgrade their skills. These initiatives will be expanded and coupled with a partnership with KNUST mechanical engineering department. Such an initiative, coupled with the establishment of Satellite Magazines in the Upper West and Volta Regions will put our mechanics at the centre of the vehicle maintenance business and development of small machines and equipment parts for years to come.

I foresee this sector pulled in significant numbers into our health Insurance and retirement schemes that will make those schemes sounder financially and significantly improve the lives of our citizens.

TOURISM

The construction of better access roads to our communities, combined with the reconstruction of our tourist attractions, better training for our staff engaged in the tourists industry and better marketing will lead to visits to our country by hundreds of thousands of visitors yearly coupled with the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs and increasing income for our communities.

To make us more attractive to tourists, both internal and external, we need to make our environment cleaner. To help achieve this, my government will put on the streets 20,000 Community Health Inspectors (TANKASE) per year and make significant investments in improving our sanitation.

SERVICES

Chairperson, due to the exceptionally high standards of education in Ghana compared to what obtains in the rest of West Africa, there is a market for services to our neighbours.

In the educational sector, the expansion of our facilities will make it easier to increase the admission of foreign students to our institutions of higher learning and generate income for our institutions.

This same approach can be used in healthcare. It is well known that a lot of West Africans visit our hospitals in Kumasi and Accra for services. To meet this demand, we should train more Doctors, Nurses and other health workers while expanding our facilities. Indeed, it is reported that India does about 2BN USD worth of business in Medical tourism annually.

Similar services of this nature can be performed in banking and other such services.

PENSION AND UNEMPLOYMNT SCHEMES

Chairperson, to be the truly modern nation that we aspire to be, we must have in place a scheme for compensating employees when they become unemployed for reasons that are beyond their control. I pledge to work with you and other stakeholders, to develop and implement such a scheme for our working people. Chairperson, it is accepted by all that our retirement benefits are woefully inadequate.

First, the minimum pension, now 22 GH Cedis from 1 cedi a few years ago, is still too low. This low value is further eroded by inflation.

My government will do the following ; First support the passage and implementation of the Pensions bill now before Parliament. Second, changes will be made to enable working people borrow from their retirement accounts as down-payment for homes. The balance of the cost can be paid with a mortgage to be paid off gradually during the working life of the person. Third, there will be a sustained effort to bring into our retirement schemes those in the informal sector, to give a boost to those schemes and to secure the future of our informal workers.

CREATING MARKETS ABROAD

Chairperson, these measures that I have outlined here will be immeasurably assisted by our country’s engagement with our region and continent. West Africa has a market of over a quarter of a billion people. Making the region peaceful will make it easier for law-enforcement authorities to collaborate in fighting drug-dealers and other criminals and making it easier for law-abiding citizens to exchange goods and services. Chairperson, intra-African trade accounts for only 12% of African trade and my government will work with other countries to reduce tariffs, harmonise rail-gauges and truck axels so that we can increase intra-African trade.

Chairperson, Africa is perhaps the only continent whose people trade so little amongst ourselves and we must reverse that.

ENVIRONMENT

Chairperson, even as we create these jobs of today and tomorrow, we must protect our environment for generations yet unborn. My government will aggressively protect our environment from degradation and contamination and improve it, by re-afforestation, the cleaning of water bodies the modernisation of our laws and their enforcement.

I believe that even the protection of our environment will create more jobs.

GHANAIAN ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

Chairperson, the education of our children for the jobs of tomorrow, the talent that drives the creation of the jobs of tomorrow must largely be of Ghanaians, by Ghanaians and for Ghanaians. The purpose of our party is to manifest our faith in our country and her people by helping to make Ghanaians winners in the global village, able to compete effectively with their counterparts from all corners of the globe. I see the day when many Ghanaians will be counted amongst the most esteemed business leaders of our generation, not just on our continent but in the world. Let Ghanaians with the skills and resources join the NPP in the creation of wealth and jobs that will pay living wages for workers and increase living standards. I am committed to ensuring, when I am President that the laws of our country be strictly enforced so that Ghanaians are not unfairly disadvantaged by foreign businesspeople and interests. While we welcome those who do business here in a manner consistent with our laws, we must and will ensure that the public’s interest and safety are always protected.

NUMBER OF JOBS

Chairperson, the measures that I have outlined here will create jobs; good jobs in significant numbers.

My campaign estimates that in the construction, heavy industries and tourism alone, we can create a million jobs a year within two years implementing these policies. Furthermore, the implementation of the other measures will add another hundred thousand or so jobs annually.

While this is occurring, the skills-training program that I discussed will assist, when fully implemented two hundred thousand students and workers to acquire and/or upgrade their skills.

FUNDS OF PROGRAMS

Chairperson, the programs that I have outlined here are ambitious but achievable.

The NPP government has demonstrated through its management of the economy that it is capable of mobilising the necessary resources to fund these initiatives. Last year, when we went into the bond markets for 750 million USD, the bond offer was over-subscribed to the tune of 3.2 billion USD. This means that we have the credibility, based on our performance, to mobilise resources from the international markets.

Furthermore, we anticipate increasing revenues from our expanding economy. In addition to this, the discovery of oil will bring us estimated revenues of 15 billion USD in the first five years alone.

GOVERNMENT

Chairperson, I know that many who seek to invest and to create jobs for our people are frustrated by a government bureaucracy that appears uncoordinated and unco-operative. During my Presidency, I shall marshal the resources and prestige of government, to simplify bureaucracy and to be the ally of those who seek to create businesses. Here at home, I shall create an inter-sectoral cabinet Committee to collaborate in speeding up approvals for proposal for business formation that have overlap characteristics. Abroad, we shall provide technical personnel to counsel and support Ghanaians seeking to do business with foreign interests to ensure that our citizens are protected. Furthermore, it shall be my goal to have about 80% of business applications approved within 30 days.

In addition to these I pledge to make the necessary investments to help the government to gather and for stakeholders to have access to data on job creation and unemployment, on a regular basis.

CONCLUSION

Chairperson, the transformation of our economy and modernisation of our society requires economic growth with job creation. Our democracy requires that our citizens have access to good, well-paying jobs.

This evening, I have clearly outlined the measures that will create the workers with the skills needed for the high-paying jobs of tomorrow.

Also, I have underlined my commitment to assisting workers to acquire learning and skills even while they work to make them eligible for newer and better-paying jobs.

We have reviewed agriculture and its importance to our rural economies and food security.

In addition, we reviewed our potential in the construction industry and how, with the helping hand of government, Ghanaian workers can become proud homeowners with financial security. It is my hope that this initiative in housing will give our young people starting out in life a chance to start life without being weighed down by multi-year rent advances that make their lives so difficult.

I have reviewed the role of our informal sector operators and how we can bring them gradually into our formal sector, to strengthen our economy, to create more linkages and to increase their incomes and retirement security. Indeed, Chairperson, I can foresee the day in the not too distant future when many of these informal sector workers, awakened to their rights and the advantages of banding together, will come to you with their newly formed and powerful unions and ask for places at your table as full and equal members of the Trades Union Congress. I see great times ahead for working people.

However, unlike those who believe a government can command and control our economy to provide prosperity, we believe it is only free people interacting with one another through free markets and competition that can produce the prosperity that we need. Therefore, we ask for your hand in partnership. Working together to create well-paying jobs, we can increase prosperity and eradicate poverty for the great majority of our citizens. The empowerment of Ghanaians will make it possible for Ghanaian capital and talent, from home and abroad, to invest here at home, to create wealth and capital. We must and will be in control of our economy because this is Ghana and we are Ghanaians.

Chairperson, I believe that Ghana is a nation of destiny. It was not by accident that God chose us to lead the way in the liberation of Africa. I am convinced that we are destined to lead the way for our continent, by being one of the first black successful countries in Africa. Together, let us work to build a strong, free and vibrant nation that we can leave to our children with pride and set an example, not just for our age but for the ages.

Let us move forward.

Yeeko yanim Won ya wor hie Zaa mu gaba

God bless you