Sunyani-Ghana, Dec. 12, GNA – The government has recruited 2.1 million people into jobs, both in the private and public sectors, in the past seven years, the Vice President Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia has said.
In a breakdown, the Vice President said the public sector had engaged 1.2 million people, with the private sector absorbing 975,000 people.
Alhaji Dr Bawumia disclosed this when he launched the Business and Employment Assistance Programme, an initiative of the Youth and Employment Agency (YEA) that sought to create jobs for 20,000 young people nationwide.
“No government in the fourth republic or in the history of this country has been able to recruit this large number of people,” stated.
Under the implementation of the flagship programme, YEA would provide up to GHC500 grant support to 10,000 registered Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSEs) to empower them to create opportunities and engage more of the youth in their workplaces.
Notwithstanding, Alhaji Dr Bawumia said there was still a large number of youths in the country who required jobs, saying, “We have a big job to create more jobs for the young people”.
Describing the Porgramme as a laudable initiative and a testament of the government’s focus on job creation, the Vice President commended the Board and management of the YEA and expressed the hope the youth would derive optimum benefit from the programme.
Alhaji Dr Bawumia said the launch of the programme, and other initiatives, demonstrated the government’s commitment to job creation, an effort that had resulted in the creation of more jobs than any government has ever done in the history of the country.
“Unemployment was a real problem, and we even had the unemployment graduate association. Our focus, therefore, was to improve job creation through the public and private sector,” the Vice President stated.
“I can say with all humility that no government in the history of the fourth Republic has done this, and this cannot be challenged. It is the fact,” Alhaji Dr Bawumia indicated, stressing “In spite of the unprecedented 1.2m jobs created more will be done to create more jobs for the Ghanaian youth due to the growing youth population of the country”.
The youth of the country, Alhaji Dr Bawumia explained remained the greatest resource, and “it is therefore collective duty to ensure that they are well positioned to make significant contributions to the economic development of our dear nation”.
Mr Kofi Baah Agyepong, the Chief Executive Officer of the YEA, explained the implementation of the programme, which would also benefit operators of car washing bays, chop bars, and provision stores as a step to salvage the unemployment situation in the country.
Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, highlighted the government’s determination to create jobs for young people and called on the youth to engage in entrepreneurship and skills training to benefit from government programmes.
