World Bank lauds 'Ghana Beyond Aid' policy

Dr Michal Rutkowski, the Senior Director of SP&J, World Bank Group, has commended the Government for its policy on “Ghana Beyond Aid,” describing it as a laudable idea.

He said although it was a very interesting idea, there was the need to set targets and dates towards achieving it.

“This is not possible within a day, but this is possible and attainable in a reasonable time,” Dr Rutkowski stated at a public forum in Accra.

The forum, dubbed: “Public Dialogue on Jobs in Ghana: International Good Practices and National Solutions,” was organised by the Centre for Policy Studies, University of Ghana, in partnership with the World Bank and the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations.

The lecture seeks to contribute to the debate on jobs challenge by providing an opportunity for the youth and key stakeholders to hear from decision makers in government at the World Bank and academia.

The “Ghana Beyond Aid” policy of Government aims at building a Ghana, which looks to the use of its own resources.

On unemployment in Ghana, Dr Rutkowski said: “It seems to me that if you look at the numbers, the unemployment numbers are not high. The unemployment rate is slightly above five per cent. What is the problem? The problem is unemployment in the informal sector.”

“I think the main issue for Ghana is to improve business climate so that there is more jobs creation coming from entrepreneurship, coming from new companies being set-up, coming from small enterprises growing, because the answer to the unemployment question is on the demand side, not on the supply side,” he said.