An economist with the University of Ghana Business School, Professor Patrick Asuming, has welcomed the ambition of President John Dramani Mahama to slash Ghana’s unemployment rate to 5% by 2034.
However, he insists the vision to address unemployment must be backed by a clear, realistic, and data-driven strategy.
President Mahama, during the launch of a 19-member Accelerated Export Development Advisory Committee, announced a vision to reduce the country’s national unemployment rate, which is currently estimated at 14.7%, to 5% within the next decade.
This vision is part of his broader 24-Hour Economy agenda, which aims to leverage agro-processing, light manufacturing, and strategic exports to absorb Ghana’s growing labour force.
But Prof. Asuming believes Ghanaians need more than just mere rhetoric.
“In terms of realms of possibility, is that possible? Yes. But I think you need a little bit more planning and strategy than that,” he said
He noted that while the ambition is commendable, the roadmap to achieving it is more important and must be made clear. This, he says, is very necessary, especially given the structural challenges of the Ghanaian economy and the large number of graduates entering the job market each year.
“The government needs to tell us how many people graduate out of our universities every year, how many people are joining the workforce, before you think about how many people are already finished and still have not gotten jobs,” he noted.
To him, a clear-cut policy direction with actionable measures is what is needed to ensure that the vision becomes a reality.
He believes the actionable strategy must answer critical questions.
“When you say you’re going to reduce the unemployment rate to 5%, what percentage is going to come from government services running additional cycles, or what is the industrialisation strategy, what is the entrepreneurship strategy?” he quizzed.
“It is feasible, but I think merely saying that you will do that doesn’t mean it. We’ve heard such nice stories before,” he remarked.
Prof. Asuming is of the view that as Ghana looks to reset its economic fundamentals and confront its unemployment crisis, the importance of a clear and well-defined actionable strategy can never be underestimated.
