A Non-Resident Ghanaian Secretariat (NRGS) has been established at the National Economic Dialogue Secretariat in Accra to facilitate recommendations made at the Homecoming Summit held in Accra, last year.
Addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Co-ordinator of the National Economic Dialogue Secretariat, Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng said the NRGS is in the process of preparing a comprehensive data of Ghanaian professionals abroad.
The completed data from North America indicates that there are about 200-300 medical professionals in that part of the world, he revealed.
"Those in North America and in Europe have completed preparing data on the medical and accounting professionals. The other areas such as the teaching profession, consultancy and entertainment industry among others are being prepared."
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said it is estimated that one million Ghanaians living abroad whose resource and goodwill the country would enjoy on a regular and consistent basis could be identified.
He explained that the NRG Secretariat has assisted Ghanaian investors in the Diaspora to find opportunities in the economy, adding that this has helped remove the bottlenecks and some frustrating bureaucratic practices. "This assistance has come as a great relief to them, as without such help most of them would have turned back."
He said the secretariat is working closely with the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Finance and financial services to set up the NRG Development Fund and Privatisation Fund to increase the contribution of the over $400m remittances that Ghana benefits from its compatriots abroad annually.
"An account would soon be opened at the BoG to facilitate the process of transfer, access, making monitoring easier and enhancing the confidence of NRGs in the management of funds," he disclosed.
He said as part of the recommendations arrangements have been made by the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service for Ghanaians living abroad to settle customs duty and other relating taxes at the originating country to speed up the process of clearing of goods when they arrive in the country.
On another note, Mr. Asamoah-Boateng disclosed to The Accra Daily Mail that approximately one million people were registered during the registration of unemployed nationwide. He said the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of about 201,000 followed by Greater Accra. The Upper West recorded about 20,000 unemployed people.
He said about 63.3 % have gone through basic education, therefore "there is obviously the need for more training and activities for people to acquire more qualification."
He said about 38.4% were willing to be placed in ongoing projects such as reforestation programmes, cocoa spraying exercise and urban cleaning.
He said the Export Development and Investment Fund would be made operational so that people take advantage of it to move into export-oriented business.
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment would soon come out with a skills-training programme for the registered members after which they would be financed by government to start a job. The Public Relations Manager of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Kwabena Antwi said it is very important that people invest in every part of the country to stop rural -urban migration.
