Government Jobs Alone Cannot Solve Youth Unemployment – President Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has said sustainable employment for Ghana’s growing youth population will depend on expanding private sector production rather than relying solely on government jobs.
Addressing residents during the Upper West Community Engagement, the President said the size of the public service makes it impossible for Government to employ every graduate leaving the country’s schools and universities.
“As I speak today, about 70,000 trained health professionals are at home waiting for employment,” he said.
President Mahama explained that the entire public service, from the Presidency to the lowest-paid public worker, comprises fewer than one million employees out of a national population of about 34 million.
He said thousands of young people complete Senior High School and tertiary institutions every year, making it unrealistic to expect Government alone to absorb all job seekers.
The President said this reality informed the introduction of the 24-Hour Economy, which is designed to encourage factories and businesses to operate multiple shifts and employ more workers.
Instead of industries operating only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., he said Government wants businesses to extend production into additional shifts to increase employment opportunities.
President Mahama cited a recently commissioned factory at Savelugu, which already employs about 2,300 young people, nearly 80 per cent of them women, as an example of the kind of private sector investment Government intends to replicate.
He announced that three more factories of a similar scale are expected to be established next year under the 24-Hour Economy initiative.
The President also revealed that the New Economy Programme, to be introduced in the 2027 Budget, will channel US$2.5 billion annually into strategic sectors including pharmaceuticals, agricultural production, agro-processing, tourism and power generation.
He stressed that the programme is intended to finance viable private businesses rather than create new state-owned enterprises.
President Mahama urged young people to embrace entrepreneurship, saying lasting economic transformation would come from creating businesses that employ others rather than depending exclusively on public sector employment.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
