2021 Budget failed to capture unemployment issues - Former Employment Minister

The Former Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour relations, Mr Antwi Boasiako-Sekyere has warned that neglecting unemployment issues in the 2021 Budget Statement and other Government addresses could continue to irritate Ghanaians.

To him, this can eventually spell doom for the Government of the day.

He lamented that Government often focuses on inflation data while ignoring the unemployment data of the country. He believes the data on unemployment in Ghana should be of paramount importance to the Government as this information helps propose ways to help the youth.

In an interview with Happy FM’s Don Prah on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show, he explained: “When it comes to inflation, the statistical service is quick to give us data but when it comes to unemployment the story is different.

We don’t want to talk about unemployment and all you hear is that they have created two million or three million jobs. To end poverty, employment must be our priority or else we will continue reading budget and yet people will be angry”.

The former minister proposed that as a country, we need to have “a labour market information system” to help us deal with unemployment issues in the country.

He furthered that when the country focuses on the exporting rather than importing, we will end up creating more jobs for Ghanaians rather than for foreign countries.

“We have to change our attitude or else we will continue reading budget and be working for foreign countries and not for Ghanaians”, he added.

The caretaker of Finance Minister, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, on Friday, presented the 2021 budget statement and economic policy on the floor of Parliament.

Among the things he disclosed, he shared that Government rolled out an Unemployment Insurance Scheme last year to provide temporary income support to workers who were laid off due to the pandemic.