Review benchmark value on imports – AGI tells govt
An Economist, Mr. Emmanuel Wiafe, has encouraged the Government to pay attention to skills training, entrepreneurship and Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) as a solution to the unemployment situation in the country.
Speaking in an interview ahead of the presentation of the 2022 budget, Mr. Wiafe, admonished the Government to give a big push on TVET education in the 2022 budget.
He said the Government must set up Funds and offer financial support to graduates of TVET to create sustainable business and employ more people.
This, he opined would go a long way to produce entrepreneurs who would not rely on the Government for employment in the public sector, but do their own businesses.
For its sustainability, he urged the Government to push and pursue policies that would create an ease environment for businesses to operate.
Additionally, Mr. Wiafe, a Lecturer at the Takoradi campus of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), also want the Government to review taxes on petroleum products downwards or removed to ease the pressure on the economy for businesses thrive.
He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic was still around and stressed the need for the Government to put in place policies that would aid the smooth recovery of the economy from the pandemic.
“We are still not out of the COVID-19 situation, we need policies for a smooth recovery of the economy, the Government must keep supporting small and medium enterprises to stand on their feet,” he stated.
He noted that though Ghana’s economy kept growing, the country could not own the growth because major contributors to the growth were foreigners.
The only way to own the growth, he said, was for the Government to support small and medium enterprises to a level where they could become multinational companies.
“The Ghanaian economy has been projected to grow between five to seven percent in 2022, but until we own the growth, people will not feel it,” he said.
The Economist said he expected the 2022 budget to lay more emphasis on the Government’s “Obatanpa” care project to cushion citizens against the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On infrastructural development, Mr. Wiafe urged the Government to invest in the railway sector to link Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi to open up the transport network of the country.
That, not withstanding, he said the Government must also continue with its road infrastructure project, because most of the road network in the country were in poor condition.