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Policymakers need to focus on employment generation not job creation – Prof. Baah-Boateng
Prof. Baah-Boateng
Economist, Professor William Baah-Boateng, has charged policymakers to move away from job creation to employment generation.
Using job creation as a term for temporary employment over a very short period, he noted that if policymakers continue to use ‘gigs’ to address the unemployment situation in the country, they would inadvertently create even more unemployment.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition, he said, “Yes, you’ve created that amount of job that is fine, but if you’ve created that amount of job and it’s not sustainable – it takes just a week for that job [to be done], the person will come back to ask for more.
“And that is why your unemployment rate will continue to rise because you’ve created a job for a person and that job lasted for only one month or only a week. So after that the person joins the unemployed.”
He noted that to get a clearer picture of the employment situation in the country, he advised that policymakers pay critical attention to those exiting the job market.
“When you want to talk about employment generation or you want to equate it as job creation in terms of numbers you need to look at the exit, those who are exiting, to be able to get the net. So you’re here, business desk, let’s say you have five people employed and then three leaves.
“Three of them they leave so you’re left with two and then your employers bring two so you’re four and you say ‘oh we have created jobs for two people’ that it cannot be because three people have left and replaced them by two. So if anything at all there is negative employment creation,” he said.
According to Prof. Baah-Boateng, to achieve sustainable employment policymakers would have to create jobs that can keep a person employed for at least half a year.
“So policymakers should move away from what they call job creation to employment generation. And that employment generation here we’re talking about employing somebody sustainably, and that kind of employment can last for at least six months,” he said.
His comments come on the back of the Ghana Statistical Service’s Quarterly Labour Statistics Report which revealed that about 1.76 million persons were unemployed in the third quarter of 2022.
Within this population, two out of every three unemployed persons were females.
Across the three quarters, about 157,000 persons experienced an unemployment spell that is they were unemployed in all the quarters.
The report further said close to 7.5 million persons remained employed throughout the three quarters out of the about 11 million persons employed in each quarter.
This indicates that across the three quarters about 3.5 million persons were moving in and out of employment depicting vulnerabilities.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, spokesperson to NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has called on the government and Parliament to undertake major reforms in Ghana’s prison system, including the construction of a dedicated prison hospital and the introduction of regulated conjugal visits.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Dr Boakye-Danquah shared Chairman Wontumi’s observations and recommendations following his remand on July 20, 2026.
According to the statement, Chairman Wontumi’s experience in prison has given him the opportunity to interact with prison officers and inmates and observe the challenges facing the Ghana Prisons Service.
The statement noted that the NPP chairman believes the correctional system must move beyond punishment to focus on rehabilitation, welfare and productivity.
One of his major concerns is the lack of dedicated, well-equipped prison hospitals, ambulances and standby generators in several prison facilities.
Dr Boakye-Danquah said Chairman Wontumi had raised concerns about the difficulties in providing medical care to seriously ill inmates, including those suffering from tuberculosis.
He is therefore calling for the construction of a modern prison hospital to serve facilities across the country. In the interim, he has proposed emergency arrangements with the 37 Military Hospital and the Police Hospital.
On the welfare of prison officers, Chairman Wontumi has urged the government to review their salaries, accommodation and conditions of service.
He has also called for proper classification of inmates, arguing that minor offenders should not be housed alongside armed robbery convicts and that persons facing trial for serious offences, including treason and terrorism, should be appropriately separated from other inmates.
The statement further highlighted concerns about the need for counselling and behavioural support for young inmates, particularly those serving sentences for defilement-related offences.
Chairman Wontumi has also called for a clear policy on the classification and management of LGBTQI+ inmates within the prison system.
On family relationships, he has proposed the creation of designated private areas where prisoners can receive visits from their spouses and children.
He believes regulated conjugal visits could help preserve marriages, reduce tension among inmates and support rehabilitation.
“The prisoner is the one in prison, not the children or spouse,” the statement noted, explaining his position on the need to protect family relationships during incarceration.
Chairman Wontumi has appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to support prison farms with the necessary equipment to improve food production.
According to the statement, the Ghana Prisons Service has access to vast lands and skilled labour but faces a shortage of agricultural equipment, with only one tractor reportedly available for farming and garbage-related activities.
He has further proposed greater collaboration between prison authorities and the justice sector, suggesting that regional prison commanders should be included in relevant discussions because of their knowledge of prison conditions and inmate rehabilitation.
On infrastructure, Chairman Wontumi has called on the government and private sector to invest in modern prison facilities and factories, arguing that the system has seen limited structural improvements over the years.
Appeal to Parliament
Dr Boakye-Danquah said Chairman Wontumi had made a special appeal to Parliament to lead efforts towards comprehensive prison reform.
He is urging the Speaker of Parliament to initiate discussions on prison conditions as a human rights and national development issue.
He has also called on the Majority and Minority caucuses to work together to pass a new Prison Reform Act and approve funding for a dedicated prison hospital, ambulance services, standby generators and agricultural equipment.
Additionally, he wants the Parliamentary Select Committees on Defence and Interior, Health, and Food and Agriculture to undertake working visits to prisons across the country to assess conditions firsthand.
According to the statement, Chairman Wontumi believes bipartisan cooperation between the Majority and Minority caucuses is necessary to secure the legal and financial reforms required to improve the prison system.
He has called for broader prison reforms across Africa, expressing hope that Ghana could lead the continent in improving correctional facilities.
Reflecting on his experience since July 20, Chairman Wontumi stated: “At this experience since July 20th till date, prison doesn’t reform as it should be. I pray that the entire Africa will learn from Ghana.”
The statement added that Chairman Wontumi remained in high spirits.
By: Jacob Aggrey
England captain Harry Kane says it was extra special to be presented with the Ballon d’Or by one of his childhood idols.
Kane made the comment after receiving the prestigious award from former Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario.
“Ronaldo was one of my idols growing up,” Kane said.
The Bayern Munich striker described the moment as surreal, being honoured by a player he looked up to as a young footballer.
Kane was announced as the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner on Monday, October 26, at the London Palladium, marking the 70th anniversary of the award and the first time the ceremony was held outside France.
The 33-year-old beat stiff competition from second-placed Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal to win his first ever Ballon d’Or.
He becomes the first Englishman to win the coveted individual award in 25 years since Michael Owen in 2001, and only the fifth Englishman ever after Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen.
He is also the first Bayern Munich player to win the award since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
Kane won the award after a remarkable season in which he scored 61 goals in 51 club matches, the most a Bayern player has ever scored in one campaign.
Including England matches, it was 73 goals plus eight assists in 65 matches. His 73 goals is the second-highest single-season total ever behind Lionel Messi’s 82 in 2011-12.
Despite the goal haul, Kane did not win the Champions League or World Cup, with Bayern losing 6-5 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals and England losing 2-1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final before finishing third.
The award was presented by Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazario, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner himself, adding what was described as a special dimension to Kane’s historic achievement.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
