Employment, Job Creation In Ghana's Economy

Job creation has been the most problematic area for the Ministry of Employment in Ghana. Ironically, all the successive administrations in the history of Ghana since independence from the British colonial rule, have been mindful of job creation for its youth in the population. However, their failures have always been their chronic dependency on the developed countries that are ignorant themselves of the African concept of employment.

For several instances, including the current one, Ghanaian Governments have always considered employment as working for the government-generated secretarial or administrative jobs in order to enjoy due recognition in that African state. This has affected the mindset of the indigenous. Hence, rendering a generation of abysmal poverty, decimated into begging and over-dependency on the Western nations’ meager handouts. The underlining problem has always been faulty employment economics.

Foremost, the nation needs to get rid of the obsession of government jobs and insert it with the definition of employment as “making money for oneself regardless of where one works”. It is also the ability to help Ghanaians to prioritize. For instance, people should be helped to make choice decisions: “should one desire wealth over recognition or recognition over wealth, or both?” More often than not, wealth would become higher on the list. Then to help people become wealthy, small business development must be inculcated into the thinking gumption of the indigenous. Capital acquisition then becomes the prime concern in that line of thinking, which shouldn’t be, if the Ghanaian Government isn’t lazy.

Correction made in the policy on employment from job creation into business development should precipitate the government’s next set of strategies. Go around the country and identify all kinds of businesses that can be developed in each constituency or district. As an agrarian economy, agricultural production must be number one errand to take. The next step would probably be how much capital – machinery, stock, cash, etc. – may be needed for each projected investment.

The government would probably have to figure out how many locally trained unemployed graduates in the nation can be readily used for any given project. With this kind of national economic development project statistical document in hand, detailing sites, required capital, projected cost, types of employees, field assistants, government’s tax-free incentives, etc. then the ministries of employment, trade, and economic planning can team up and make presentations to Ghanaians in Diaspora, who become the initial target for the sources of funding. It is estimated that Ghanaians resident outside the national boundaries of Ghana number about five million.

Of this figure, about 15 percent can easily invest at least half-a-million dollars; and about 52 percent can commit $100, 000 into investments; while nearly 65 percent can readily take part in an investment drive requiring between $1, 000 and $50, 000. These estimates show that Ghana can easily net at least $2 billion annually through this kind of job creation strategy. Ghana can even fund national projects through her expatriate citizenry resident outside and stop or at least reduce the uncontrolled penchants for borrowing, which goes to affect future generations regarding foreign debt servicing. In the year 2000, I made a presentation of this idea to the then NPP presidential candidate who became president eventually during one of his campaign trail stopovers to solicit for funds at Green Lanes–London, where I was a doctoral candidate in Small Business/Entrepreneurship at Kingston University. On his assumption to power, he started a small business administration to develop strategies that will incorporate the ideas presented here, but unfortunately, abandoned it later on.

Unemployment still remains a nightmare in the quest for national drive on poverty alleviation. However, subsequent government move in soliciting for funds from far eastern countries to create a source for entrepreneurial training of Ghanaian youth to find their levels in the society might seemed probably a government delivering on campaign promises. The problem still remains in the same way they met it because my strategy to eliminate the third factor – foreign loans to be repaid – had not been implemented yet. The good news is that my strategic idea to wean the nation from external dependency attracted some form of executive review with a pretense to practice. Perhaps the problem denotes the difficulty of implementing someone-else’s project that one does not have thorough understanding, knowledge, or aesthetic appreciation of it.

On a cursory look at Africa’s chronic unemployment situation, there is a uniformed generic characterization of the problem. Primarily, what appears more challenging to the entire African governments is that technological advancement keep changing so fast that Africa feels dazed and lingers behind the pace setting. The underlying systemic problem points to Africa’s continuity in performing in the constraints of generic failures as their colonial masters’ deceptive structural designs. Probably, Africa could begin assessing her economic performance through sustainable policy decisions. Sustainability, for our record purposes, is defined as “holding onto what exists now, that needs to be developed into the unknown future.”

The current campaign ensuing in Ghana proposes of “one-factory-one-district”, and “one-village-one-dam.” The latter sounds brilliant, to help rural folks to water their crops as drought has been problematic in Ghana, especially in the northern territories. Dams development can also assist continuous supply of water for commercial agriculture for export and sale at AGOA. This strategic plan can also help my first plan of Ghana’s agricultural entrepreneurship. The proposition for “one-factory-one-district” is dicey on my radar. The reason is that, there is a paradigmatic shift in industrial design.

The shift occurred as a result of eminent death of the old hierarchical bureaucratic command-control “Industrial Era” paving the way for the all new complex adaptive systemic “Knowledge Era”. The continuous recessions and economic downturns of the so-called advanced nations is the result of the persistence of their collective ignorance of the changed systems. Of all the 17 most powerful corporations that stood the test of the time, and made America once a great nation, only one has withstood the vagaries of economic destructive pathways. That corporation is General Electric (GE). GE’s globalization strategy in its sustainability pursuit has carefully eliminated the defunct structural curse from its functions. For example, GE focuses on “mobile factories” and would readily shift capital to sites around the globe that have the right resources, such as quality skill labour, technology, and business-friendly statutory regulatory regimes.

If Ghana plans on the old “Industrial Era” platform, then its “one-factory-one-district” de rigueur can easily become eulogy in its next anniversary because it will inherit a large old expensive empty platform that no one will ever visit. The Chinese-led BRICS refurbished statutory capitalisms structure appears more motivating now, but theirs is also structurally built around the “Industrial Era” regime. Not impressive! They will soon or late be dazed down the road as the 21^st Century approaches.

The newly “Knowledge Era” paradigm is human resource-related, and “Culture” is its most descriptive dictating element. Africa has a huge commanding lead. Once Africans identify their priorities, identify solutions, and begin working towards achieving them, the unemployment problem will be reduced tremendously to provide new beginnings for the African youth in search for employment. Ghana must plan strategically for the 21^st Century. There should not be any reason for Ghana to remain poor with huge unemployed youth. The old system is dead and buried recently; and the new system is enstooled already. Ghanaian leaders must check their notes carefully and execute duties accordingly. Please don't let the people down!

Konongo Fordjour Nie! Eyaa Da Yie, Wai!
Konongo Fordjour
GlobalAnalytika
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