NGOs to engage religious leaders to reduce unemployment

The Network of Associations of Registered Non-governmental organisations (NARNGO), said it will engage religious leaders and interest groups to help create business ventures to reduce unemployment in the country.

The Association said religious bodies constituted key institutions that could help realise the developmental aspirations of government.

Dr Kofi Lucas, Chairman of the Strategic Consortium, an NGO, at a workshop in Accra, said there was the need to aggressively promote closer partnership in practical terms between government and the corporate church to complement the work of government.

The discussion was on the topic: "Venturing into Agriculture and Industries, creating massive jobs for our teeming jobless youth in the church as well as wealth for the investors and feeding the needy in the communities in the Covid-19 era - A challenge to the Religious and Interest group leaders."

Dr Lucas said the partnership would help in the implementation of government's coordinated programme of economic and social development policies to create jobs and prosperity for all.

He said NARNGO had the capacity and strategy to organise the religious leaders and interest groups to bring on board at least three million members who would be seen as potential investors.

Dr George Domfe, Economic Consultant and Senior Research Fellow, University of Ghana, said the major challenges of job creation was attributed to high cost of lending rate, which made the environment intimidating for people to venture into businesses.

"Until the interest rate goes down, we cannot create jobs for our people and this will make us remain where we are and not progress as a nation," he said.

Dr Domfe said the high cost of electricity was another challenge that hindered the efforts of many businesses to thrive.

He said to develop and move Ghana beyond Aid, electricity prices must be reduced to motivate people to venture into entrepreneurship to help develop the economy.

Dr Bomfe said the high taxes placed on the few businesses in existence made it difficult for them to survive and called for a reduction in the taxes to encourage individual entities to setup enterprises, create more jobs, produce more, and contribute to the growth of the economy.

That could increase Ghana's Gross Domestic Product and increase the tax net to prevent the country from relying on external aid.