LDCs Report for 2013 launched in Accra

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNTACD) report on the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) has been launched in Accra with a call on for the creation of decent employment for citizens.

“Economic growth which does not create decent jobs in sufficient quantity is unsustainable; job creation without the development of productive capacities is equally unsustainable,” the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Antwi Bosiako Sekyere said when he launched the 2013 report in Accra. The report looked at how to tackle the current and future challenges faced by LDCs and considered how LDCs could promote growth that generates adequate quality jobs and enable these countries to reach their most urgent and pivotal goals, which are poverty reduction, inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Mr Sekyere expressed concern about the fact Ghana has no update on unemployment, adding, “It was just recently that we designed a national employment policy, which is now before Cabinet for approval”.

Mr Kwabena Baah-Duodo, former Special Advisor to UNTACD’s General-Secretary who gave the overview of the report said with the population of LDCs projected to double to 1.7 billion by 2050, the report showed the need to generate more jobs and decent employment opportunities, particularly for young people.

He said it is expected that the youth population from 15 to 24 years of LDCs would soar from 168 million in 2010 to 300 million by 2050. “It is clear that if these stark demographic challenges are not addressed, we will see a rise in poverty, social instability and international emigration rates across the globe,” he said.

In order to reach the goal of creating sufficient quality jobs, the report suggested that LDCs needs to base employment generation on development of productive capacities through the investment-growth-employment nexus.

Given the relatively weak private sector in many LDCs, it is more likely that in the short to medium term the investment push required to kick-start the growth process would originate in the public sector.

Investment in infrastructure, he said is a natural starting point, since the lack of adequate infrastructure in most LDCs is a serious bottleneck to enterprise development and building of productive capacities.

“The upgrading of firms and farms of all sizes is critical, in view of their role in contributing to growth, creating productive capacities and generating jobs for both unskilled and skilled workers,” he noted.