President Akufo-Addo has entreated labour unions to assist his government in the quest to boost the economy.
This comes a few weeks after the president expressed contentment about Ghana’s economic recovery from the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is pressure on the government due to rising public debt, expenditure management and revenue generation constraints.
The situation is compounded by the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against other major currencies and possible interest rate hikes.
Addressing participants at the opening ceremony of a labour conference at Koforidua in the Eastern Region on Monday 28 February 2022, President Akufo-Addo said:
“I thus appeal to all Ghanaians especially organized labour and the business community to stand shoulder to shoulder with my government as we work to return our nation onto the path of progress and prosperity within the confines of our open democratic institutions, which have respect for human rights, the rule of law and the principle of democratic accountability”.
Optimistic that his administration has initiated varied measures to revamp the economy, the president reiterated that “I am a firm personal believer in our national potential, I have no doubt that we have, in us, the potential to rise up and revive our fortune. There are brighter days ahead for Ghana”.
According to him, the government’s You Start programme aimed at helping young entrepreneurs is a solid footing to revamp Ghana’s economy.
“In effect, it will be a vehicle for supporting young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, training, technical skills, and mentoring to enable them to launch and start their businesses”.
He, however, called for a stable labour front to create a conducive environment for the implementation of government policies.
According to him, building peaceful labour relations and a resilient economy were collective responsibilities that demanded a participatory approach by stakeholders to forge consensus on national issues.
“An economy in which only a small proportion of the population bears the brunt of direct taxation is unlikely to witness any rapid transformation …We have to make concerted efforts as partners to hasten our recovery from COVID-19 by finding intelligent ways of bringing everyone on board to contribute their quota, no matter how small,” he stressed.