TUC Boss Commends YEA
In the past three decades, Ghana’s economy has achieved positive growth rate every single year with an average of about five-percent.
This positive growth has also induced some positive changes in some aspect of the lives of Ghanaians. Per capita income has also increased from about 736 Dollars in 1984 to about 2,000 Dollars in 2018.
This was disclosed by the Deputy General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, TUC, of Ghana, Joshua Ansah at the maiden delegates’ conference of the Youth Employment Agency Division of the Public Services Workers Union of the TUC in Kumasi, Ashanti region.
The two day delegates’ conference was on the theme: “Ensuring Sustainable Youth Employment and Socio-Economic Development, The Role of the Union.
Mr. Ansah further revealed that headcount income poverty has also decline from about 52-percent in 1992 to about 24-percent in 2013, while access to education and health has increased across board adding that standard of living has also seen modest improvement.
He stated that inspite of the achievements; employment elasticity of growth has remained extremely low. Mr. Ansah reiterated that in 2013 employment elasticity was estimated at 0.47-percent suggesting every 1-percent of annual economic growth yielded on 0.47-percent growth of total employment saying is abysmal.
He stated that inability of the formal sector to absorb the growing numbers of employment has worsened the situation.
Mr. Ansah further stated that when compared to the 1980’s where the formal sector employed about 20-percent of the working age population but today only 10-percent are absorb in the formal sector.
He explained that over 90-percent of the working age population are in the informal or precarious employment with huge decent work deficit.
The TUC boss pointed out that out of 13 million Ghanaians who are eligible to work only about 2 million representing 15-percent have jobs that can be described as decent.
He stated that the TUC has consistently supported successive governments by providing jobs to Ghanaian youth seeking for employment.
Providing jobs in the public sector, Mr. Ansah added would not only improve the public service delivery but equally important that will signal young people who have invested their time and money in their education.
Noting that, the youth are the mist valuable human resource potential for both economic growth and sustainable development.
According to Mr. Ansah, the contribution of the Youth Employment Agency in empowering young people will enable them contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic and sustainable development of the country.
He noted that the youth are confronted with many challenges which put pressure on them adding that policy makers are struggling with the challenge of employment creation for the teeming youth especially those who have completed tertiary education. Issues adopted at the conference included, Report of Activities for the year 2017/2018, bylaws, loan scheme policy, financial statements for the year 2017 and 2018 among others. Dignitaries present were, TUC Deputy General Secretary, Joshua Ansah, PSWU National Chairman, Joseph Debrah-Gyemfi PSWU Acting General Secretary, Bernard Adjei PSWU Acting Deputy General Secretary, and John Sampah.
Conference also elected new substantive divisional executives for the Youth Employment Agency. They included Pearl Broohm as the Chairperson, Dominic Anarigide as the first Vice Chairman and Abigail MBA as the second Vice chairperson and Bernard Bediako as Secretary. The rest were, Abraham Kwame Amoah as the Deputy Secretary, Abdul-Wahab Jawando and Shahid Mohammed as 1st Trustee and 2nd Trustees respectively and Abdul-Rashid Haruna as the Youth Representative.
By: Iddrissu A. Jara
