The focus of economic management in the
next 10 years should be job-creation, Tony Oteng-Gyasi, former President of the
Association of Ghana Industries, has said.
“Until we have a system for growing jobs,
we cannot get to where we want to go. The next 10-years’ growth agenda must
focus on job-creation.”
Mr. Oteng-Gyasi made this observation at
the Citi FM round table discussion aimed at shaping and influencing
policymakers to take concrete decisions on issues of national concern.
Speaking under the heading of‘Ghana-The Next Ten Years’, Mr.
Oteng-Gyasi opined that the nation has misplaced its priorities.
He explained that using the cocoa sector
model to attract more people into the agriculture sector will result in
boosting job-creation.
“We have a model: the cocoa model which
is what made us the world’s number-one producer of cocoa.
“Why don’t we scale that model, improve
it and look at other crops? Take rice and maize. Why can’t we grow enough rice
and maize for ourselves? And the policies which will help us to achieve this
are very simple,” he said.
He stated: “If we used all the tractors that have come into this country to farm, we would have ploughed this country several times and over. The truth of the matter is most of the tractors end up being used for transport purposes. If you go to the villages, from one village to the other, they go by tractor -- because we haven’t fixed the roads and that is the only means of transport they have.”
Mr. Oteng-Gyasi suggested that the money being channeled into the purchase of tractors should be used to guarantee a minimum price, because “if you guarantee a minimum price, you can be sure that all these gentlemen and young men around the cities will go back and farm. That is what we did with cocoa: guaranteed minimum price.”
He stated: “If we used all the tractors that have come into this country to farm, we would have ploughed this country several times and over. The truth of the matter is most of the tractors end up being used for transport purposes. If you go to the villages, from one village to the other, they go by tractor -- because we haven’t fixed the roads and that is the only means of transport they have.”
Mr. Oteng-Gyasi suggested that the money being channeled into the purchase of tractors should be used to guarantee a minimum price, because “if you guarantee a minimum price, you can be sure that all these gentlemen and young men around the cities will go back and farm. That is what we did with cocoa: guaranteed minimum price.”
Other speakers explained that the need is
for successive governments to invest in the human resource of the country,
saying it’s the best way to achieve successes.
Patrick Awuah, the founder of Ashesi University, indicated that government must consider investing massively in healthcare and education as well as infrastructure.
He said: “I would argue that in order for any country to be wealthy, that third component -- the value added by citizens -- has to be the one that we all focus on.”
Outlining how value-creation by citizens could be achieved, Mr. Awuah said: “It requires a number of things; good governance and the rule of law. And so things like human rights and civil rights; but also good economic planning, and the right institutions in government that enable the private sector to do its work will do.”
Patrick Awuah, the founder of Ashesi University, indicated that government must consider investing massively in healthcare and education as well as infrastructure.
He said: “I would argue that in order for any country to be wealthy, that third component -- the value added by citizens -- has to be the one that we all focus on.”
Outlining how value-creation by citizens could be achieved, Mr. Awuah said: “It requires a number of things; good governance and the rule of law. And so things like human rights and civil rights; but also good economic planning, and the right institutions in government that enable the private sector to do its work will do.”
On education, he said: “When I talk about education, I am not talking about kids sitting in the classroom not learning anything. It is getting the transfer of knowledge that enables them to add value to the national resources around.
“We need to have a healthy work force, so public health is also very important. It is not just about treating illness; it’s about preventing illness in the first place. So things like vaccinations and good sanitation and education, of course, play a role in that; and, finally, infrastructure.”
Citi FM’s series of round table discussions are aimed at shaping and influencing policymakers in Ghana to take concrete decisions on issues of national concern. It is a monthly national discussion platform created to bring together key sectors on relevant issues pertaining to national development.
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