Gov’t Shifts Focus from Economic Stabilisation to Job Creation – President Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has announced that his administration is moving from stabilising the economy to creating jobs.
The President said the country has now achieved a stronger and more solid economic footing and is ready to shift attention to expanding opportunities for young people.
He said government will invest in nine sectors of the economy with the capacity to create jobs as quickly as possible.
President Mahama made this known on Wednesday when the Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House in Accra.
“As I said, we have been busy stabilising the economy because of the crisis we inherited when we came into office. We had to take stringent measures to restore macroeconomic stability.
“I am happy to acknowledge that those measures have yielded results. Today, the Ghanaian economy is stronger and more solid than it was before,” he said.
He explained that part of the stabilisation measures involved reforming procedures and reviewing financial management laws to bring greater discipline into the use of public resources.
The President stated that government now wants to move from a stabilised macroeconomic environment to creating jobs, adding that every year many young people come out of school and need an economy that grows and creates opportunities for them.
“In November, the Minister for Finance will present a budget. We have decided to invest in nine critical sectors of the economy that have the capacity to create jobs as quickly as possible,” he said.
President Mahama said government intends to make about two billion dollars available every year in sectors that can create jobs, with the programme driven mainly by the private sector.
“The Minister will announce the details, but we expect the support and buy-in of our traditional authorities. We intend to make about two billion dollars available every year in sectors that can create jobs,” he stated.
He noted that the programme will be driven mainly by the private sector because government is not in business, adding that the private sector will manage it.
The President also mentioned agriculture as a key area of focus, citing oil palm and poultry as priority programmes.
He said there is no reason Ghana should continue importing vegetable cooking oil when it has the land to produce oil palm, and noted that the country spends almost five hundred million dollars every year importing chicken.
He called on the chiefs to participate directly in the oil palm programme, rather than only releasing land, so that the plantations can provide income for their communities and contribute to national development.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
