All things being equal, Ghana’s unemployment rate is expected to drastically reduce to 5% by the year 2034; this is according to the vision of President John Dramani Mahama.
The president announced this vision on Tuesday when he inaugurated the Accelerated Export Development Advisory Committee, which is a key pillar in his administration’s plan to cut national unemployment.
The 19-member committee, which is chaired by President Mahama himself, is central to the government’s vision of transforming Ghana into an export-driven economy under the #ResettingGhana agenda.
At the center of this strategy is the 24-Hour Economy policy, which is a policy designed to generate jobs by boosting value addition, economic diversification, and private sector collaboration. Launching the committee, President Mahama underscored the importance of exports in achieving Ghana’s development goals.
“Through targeted incentives and strategic partnerships, we will scale up local production and deepen participation in the value chain,” he said.
Latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) estimates the unemployment rate in the country at 14.7%. With this strategy, the president aims to slash joblessness by 9.7 percentage points within a period of 9 years.
The focus of the strategy, the President says, will be sectors with high employment potential, including agro-processing, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, textiles and garments, and industrial machinery. Specific value chains like cassava, tomato, palm oil, and horticulture will also receive attention under the 24-hour economy initiative.
To unlock the full potential of Ghana’s export sector, the government plans to invest heavily in critical infrastructure upgrades. These include expanding ports, modernising cold chain systems, operationalising the Boankra Inland Port, and revitalising both the Volta Lake Transport Company and the Mpakadan Port.
These efforts are expected to grow Ghana’s non-traditional export earnings from $3.5 billion annually to at least $10 billion by 2030 and create massive employment opportunities across the country.
The Committee, he says, will work closely with the private sector, academia, development partners, and regional institutions to identify export barriers, unlock emerging opportunities, and implement coordinated reforms.
