Prez Mahama outlines job creation avenues

President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday announced that government has under the medium term development embarked on a number of projects to create more jobs for Ghanaians.

He mentioned the Komenda Sugar Factory as well as others that have been put in place to help create employment.

President Mahama government has also inaugurated a new Savannah Diamond Centre, Shea butter and Elmina Fish processing factories that would create numerous job opportunities.

He made this known when he addressed the opening session of a two-day National Jobs Summit on the theme: “Inclusive Growth through creation of productive employment and decent work."

He also launched the National Employment Policy that would become the working document in employment sector in the coming years.

The summit, which is organised by Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, would among other things launch the National Employment and Active Plan, promote the platform for social partners, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies and private sector.

The summit would also agree on key steps and form of a communiqué to facilitate operationalisation of the National Employment Policy.

It would also interact and expose the public to employment and labour administration systems available in Ghana and also help to promote entrepreneurial spirit for self-employment through the exhibitions of products and services of well-to-do enterprises.

President Mahama said the ultimate plan of government in the drive towards more job creation, is to add value to the raw materials that the country produces by establishing more processing industries.

"It has come to the time that we have to move away from being suppliers of raw materials and add value to them to create more jobs for the growing population of this country."

President Mahama said support to the local pharmaceutical companies and the poultry and agricultural sectors is enabling local industries to expand with subsequent demand for workers that would reduce unemployment.

He suggested that increment in Intra-African trade could also be one major way of creating jobs for both the public and private sectors and appealed for partnerships that would accelerate trade within the continent.

Government, President Mahama said would ensure access and loan facilities to manufacturing industry coupled with modernised agriculture to create more jobs for Ghanaians.

Mr Guy Ryder, Director General of International Labour Organisation (ILO) commended the government for coming out with a national employment policy, which he said is comprehensive enough to guide other countries to come out with similar documents.

He said his presence at the launch of the policy was ample evidence that his outfit would offer maximum support for the policy to be implemented for all Ghanaians and beyond.

Mr Ryder appealed to the government to dialogue with stakeholders that would make it acceptable everywhere and workable to become a model policy in the African continent and to member countries of the ILO.

The Director General called for the institutionalisation of the employment policy that would make it the working document for subsequent governments and tackle all the challenges that had over the years hindered job creation.