Budget of Employment Ministry approved

Accra, March 2, GNA- The Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment is to establish a National Labour Commission at an estimated cost of two billion cedis.

The Labour Department, an agency of the Ministry, would also be restructured and strengthened to provide reliable data on labour market information, employment placement and alternative employment among other activities.

This was contained in a report presented by Mr. Stephen Balado Manu, Chairman of the Select Committee On Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises, when he seconded a motion in Parliament on Tuesday.

Mr. Yaw Barima, the sector Minister moved the motion that the house approves the sum of 47.4 billion cedis for the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment for the fiscal year, 2004.

Mr. Manu said for the year 2004, 23,000 unemployed people are to benefit from a Skills Training Employment Placement programme. He said the Ministry would hold a Presidential Employment Summit in May this year in "pursuance of government's policy of job creation."

On some observations and recommendations made by the committee, Mr Manu said the "cumulative effect of under re-sourcing the Ministry over the years has left it in a distressful state."

"For instance, Block B and C of the Labour Department's Head Office are on the verge of collapse. All the Public Employment centres are also in similar a state, " he added.

He said the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) needed about two billion cedis to complete its head office building last year but despite the persistent request for release of funds, "nothing has been done and the institute currently pays 10 million cedis a month for its rented premises."

Mr. Manu said the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), was denied extra funding to complete its building at Nungua and this has led to encroachment of its lands and a legal tussle in court between the institute and its encroachers.

"Late releases of funds by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning affected the performance of the Ministry and some of its agencies. Ghana lost her voting rights at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for not honouring her membership dues."

"It took the intervention of the sector Minister and his counterpart at the Ministry of Finance to mitigate the situation. Indeed the situation still needs to be saved, as there is still a backlog of dues to be settled."

Mr. Barima justifying the Ministry position on the budget said the mission statement of his ministry was to promote sustainable employment opportunities and assist in the social integration of the disabled. On the way forward, the Minister said the Ministry was finalising a national policy on non-governmental organisations and developing a skills training programme for technical and vocational programmes, for especially vulnerable groups such as the disabled.

He said the Ministry was also tackling the issue of children going about on the streets to reintegrate them into mainstream development. In his contribution to the motion, Mr. Joe Gidisu, NDC-North Tongu, said the Ministry needed more resources to tackle problems of child labour, adding that most monies from donors meant to deal with child labour rather went to other Ministries.

Mr. Joseph Darko-Mensah, NPP-Okaikwei-North, said disabled people should be cleared from the roads and integrated into society to enable them to lead decent lives.