Nana Addo wants more formal workers

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed worry about a chunk of Ghana’s workforce operating in the informal sector.

According to him, the situation does not auger well for the country, calling for measures to bring more people into the formal sector.

Speaking at the May Day celebrations in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said, “We have a huge workforce, but the majority of people are underemployed, inappropriately employed or unemployed.

“The figures I have seen suggest that the size of the workforce in our country is about 13 million people and there are less than 2 million people in formal work.

“Unfortunately, much of our preoccupation seems to be with this small group in the formal sector.”

The President said, “It is time for us all to work to bring more of our people into the formal sector. It would, indeed, be in everybody’s interest to do so.”

Outlines Solutions

In order to get more people into the formal sector, he said the first order of business must be to get the economy out of the doldrums and create the atmosphere for entrepreneurs to bring on the jobs.

“There are things the government must do, and there are things the citizens as a whole and Organized Labour, in particular, must do.

“We, in government, have set about our part of the task with zeal. Our first budget, the Asempa Budget, has set out clearly the roadmap to bringing prosperity to Ghana.”

President Nana Addo said government has taken important steps to create an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish and create jobs.

“We have reduced taxes, including taxes on Kayayei; inflation is on the decline; interest rates are on the decline, and relative stability of the exchange rate has been restored.

“The budget also reduced the fiscal deficit from some 9% in 2016 to a projected 6.5% in 2017, bringing Ghana back to the path of fiscal discipline.”

He said macroeconomic stability, which is key to economic growth and job creation, is being restored, stating that “we must make it easier for people who want to set up businesses to do so and remove the impediments in the way of entrepreneurs.

“We must get more people in jobs and expand the formal sector of the economy.”