The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Economic Policy Competence Centre (EPCC), a German based NGO operating in Ghana for the last 50years in collaboration with Youth Advocacy on Right and Opportunities (YARO) on Wednesday, 24th November, 2021, organized a 2-day Job Policy Fair for the youth in Bole of the Savannah Region.
The job policy fair which is on the theme “Innovative Job Creation Policies: Tools for Solving the Unemployment Situation in Ghana” is aimed at exploring existing policies for the full benefit of job seekers and entrepreneurs and the provision of an enabling environment for the youth to shape new strategies and reformulate policies to reflect their needs.
The Economic Policy Competence Centre which is a regional project of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is focused on the promotion of democracy, social justice and economic reform through policy development, capacity building and dialogues.
Madam Eunice Aseidu who is the Programs coordinator of Economic Policy Competence Centre (EPCC) noted that the organisation aims at a social change towards sustainable development which promotes inclusive economic transformation.
She added that despite the numerous challenges such as the increasing population growth ratio and gender inequality,increase in public debt and unforseen global shocks like Covid-19, the fair seeks to make participants and other beneficiaries better off inspite of these challenges which creat market frictions and deepens poverty.
She however disclosed that the support from government is inadequate hence the EFS in collaboration with YARO has partnered with other institutions of state and intellectuals to expose the youth to existing government policies and create avenue for the youth to share ideas on government policies to inform future policies and reformulate ideas that seeks to provide job opportunities to the teaming you for the sustainable development of the country.
The Executive Director of Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunities(YARO), Mr. Douri Bennin Hajei in a media engagement reiterated that the Economic Competence Centre of FES is in over 60 countries with focus of ensuring that formulated policies on job creation are implemented and to get the youth well versed in government policies.
He emphasized that decent jobs promotes the welfare of the individual and therefore called on all relevant stakeholders to put the right policies in place to breach the gap of unemployment.
“We are not all only responsible for each other’s security. We are all also in some measure responsibly for each other’s welfare as said by Kofi Annan. So in this course if all stakeholders play their role correctly with the right strategies,our government can defeat unemployment to the barest minimum”, he stated.
Prof. Seidu Alhassan, the former Pro-Vice Chancellor of University for Development Studies(UDS) who is one of the guest speakers during the first day of the fair stated that agriculture is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy and the need for the youth to be motivated through right agricultural policy implementations in order to venture into the enterprise.
“Agriculture is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy and if we want to maximize job opportunities then we have to promote agribusiness. Our agricultural system is only rain feed with no technological improvision. Let’s not only focus on the policies as a country but how they will be implemented in the right manner”, he bemoaned.
He further advocated for the mentorship of the youth and young farmers with the right skills and technological techniques to cut down the import of agricultural produce in other to boost the agricultural system of the country and the creation of more jobs.
Other heads of various government departments and agencies took turns to educate participants on their visions, missions and policies aimed at the sustainable development of the country.
Source: yagbonradioonline/Issah Zakaria
