PRESIDENT John Evans Atta Mills and his Cabinet ended a two-day retreat at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre in Accra on Friday, April 16, 2010, at which he emphasised that the priority of his administration was to ensure the expansion of the economy for more jobs to be created for Ghanaians.
The cabinet retreat took stock of the government’s performance since the Mills administration was ushered into office some 16 months ago.
Even before the retreat got underway, at a media briefing in Accra, Mr Koku Anyidoho, Director of Communications at the Presidency, had made it known that the issue of job creation would feature prominently in discussions and for good reasons.
He reiterated the fact that the availability of jobs would enable people to lead dignified and meaningful lives, certainly because they would have regular incomes and also pay taxes to aid national development.
Furthermore, Mr Anyidoho noted that the ability of the government to create more jobs for the people would go a long way to sustain the goodwill and confidence the people had in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.
For so many years now, unemployment has been such a big national headache that without even a recourse to statistics, one could, with a high degree of certainty, describe the situation as very disturbing.
The army of youth on the streets selling all manner of items, including shoe laces and chewing gums, the crowds of youth who respond to enlistment notices put out by the police and the military, the growing numbers of unemployed graduates from our tertiary institutions, many of whom compete with others for jobs far below their qualification and skills, signify the unemployment situation in the country with its attendant problems.
It is very reasonable for the government, in the face of these and other challenges, to go back to the drawing board to take a look at its performance since taking office.
We are told that at the retreat the President emphasised to his Cabinet that expanding the economy in order to create more jobs for the youth was the priority of his administration and that they had the responsibility of fulfilling their part of the social contract by delivering the ‘Better Ghana’ agenda to the people.
It is heartening that the President is actually aware of his promises to the people and the need to fulfil these promises.
After forming and running the government for almost 16 months, Ghanaians can no longer accept anything than assurances that would translate into concrete proofs within the shortest possible time.
What better hope and assurance therefore, could President Mills have given Ghanaians than to say that the government’s priority was to create more jobs.
For, it is well accepted that political candidates can only make promises while campaigning. But while to promise is to pledge to do or not to do something, assurances give a certainty about that which has been promised.
At the retreat, the Information Minister, Mr John Tia Akologo, tells us that the various sector ministers presented blueprints on how to work towards turning the stability achieved so far to a sustainable economic growth.
Much as this signifies that some appreciable efforts are being made towards economic expansions that would in turn create jobs, the ultimate that Ghanaians expect are jobs — plentiful and within the shortest possible time.
The bussing of the Cabinet members including the President and his Vice to the retreat, though some people have dismissed as nothing, was a bright idea, as it saved the country some amount of money albeit small.
The fuel that the individual ministers including the President and his Vice would have used was saved.
This kind of behaviour is what we need from our leaders as we all strive to sacrifice for the country’s good.
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