My Ministry doesn’t Create Jobs, we only Coordinates Employment Opportunities – Employment Minister

The Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Barffuor-Awuah, has disclosed that the Government is in the process of rolling out an Inter-Ministerial Initiative on Job Creation which will deliver an estimated One million jobs.

According to him, the GHc 1 billion initiative seeks to strengthen coordination of job creation efforts across different sectors of the economy and it is expected to be between now and the year 2024.

The Minister made the disclosure on the Floor of Parliament on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 in an answer to Parliamentary question filed by the Member of Parliament for Domeabra/Obom, Sophia Karen Edem Ackuaku.

The Member of Parliament wanted to know from the Minister, “What plans the Ministry has in terms of creating jobs for the youth and women in the Domeabra/Obom Constituency to enable them support themselves and their families.”

The Minister in his answer indicated that, “since 2017 to date, Government has been working assiduously to create various job opportunities for Ghanaians particularly the youth across the length and breadth of the country.

“As a result, a number of jobs have been created through the implementation of various government job creation interventions such as the: 1. Planting for Food and Jobs; 2. One District, One Factory Programme; 3. Nations’ Builders Corps (NABCO); 4. Youth Employment Programme under the YEA; and 5. National Entrepreneurship and Innovations Programme.”

When the Minister was pressed to give specific timelines for the Inter-Ministerial Initiative on the Job Creation, he said the Government would soon outline this as a major policy statement to the House in the Budget for the year 2022.

The Minister also used the opportunity to address what he considers to be ill-perceived notion of the Ministry.

He said, “The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations exists to coordinate job creation interventions in all sectors of the economy and promote harmonious industrial relations towards sustainable development.

“Contrary to the widely perceived notion that the sector creates direct productive sector jobs, the sector rather coordinates employment opportunities for decent work outcomes.”

Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com