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Ministry and DANIDA sign $1.3m agreement

01.06.2006 LISTEN
By GNA

Accra, June 1, GNA - The Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment (MMYE) and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) on Wednesday signed a 1.3 million-dollar agreement to create an enabling environment to facilitate job creation, data for policy formulation and planning and good governance.

Alhaji Bonniface Saddique, the Sector Minister-Designate, who signed the agreement, said there was the need to re-structure the Ministry and to build the capacity of staff to enhance work.

He said the amount would be used to modernise and restructure the Ministry; develop a more robust occupational health and safety system; establish a labour market information system and provide measures to encourage information sector entrepreneurs to register and become part of the formal labour market system.

Alhaji Saddique said other key players in the programme were the Ghana Trades Union Congress and Ghana Employers' Association. He said the programme would also enhance dialoguing and negotiations with labour unions to minimise unnecessary industrial actions.

Alhaji Saddique said the Ministry had a central role to play in ensuring increased productivity but it was understaffed. He said he was optimistic that the programme would assist in the creation of job centres in the regions and districts to cater for job seekers.

Mr Flemming Bjork Pedersen, Danish Ambassador to Ghana, who signed for DANIDA, said Denmark supported the Government's policy to help to develop the private sector. The agreement was thus to boost the labour sector especially to collate information on the informal sector. "We shall cooperate to improve the conditions in the labour market and ensure good working environment to attract qualified people to increase production."

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