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Workforce must move to higher productivity—Dr Baah
The Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ghana, Dr Yaw Baah says the country must work to move majority of its 13 million workforce from a low productivity service sector to a higher one like manufacturing.
This type of development module, he said, was the one employed by advanced countries in Europe and should be replicated here to help achieve the economic transformation envisioned by the Ghana Beyond Aid (GBA) agenda.
Speaking at a virtual forum on COVID-19 and GBA in Accra yesterday, he said economic growth would be minimal with only eight per cent of the workforce in the manufacturing sector and 49 per cent in the service sector.
The forum, organised by the GBA committee was on the theme “COVID-19 and our march towards Ghana Beyond Aid; turning adversity into opportunity”.
It was aimed at stepping up public education and social mobilisation towards achieving the vision.
Explaining the European example of economic transformation, Dr Baah said they used a model in which they moved workforce through agriculture to industry and then the service sector.
“But in Ghana, we have moved large chunk of people from agriculture straight to service sector. We have skipped the industry sector. The industry is the chief provider of jobs”
“That is how we have missed the transformation of our economy and this is the time to change under the GBA. We have to move a chunk of our workers from the low producing informal sector to higher production informal sector”, he said.
According to the TUC boss, the country’s struggle against colonial masters did not end with the attainment of independence, rather it was the beginning of the strife to coordinate her own socio-economic development.
On the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, it had shown the country that the GBA was “indeed appropriate and timely. The GBA vision should be our guide in our efforts to move over the pandemic”, he said.
The Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, in a brief address, described the GBA vision as relevant to the country’s development adding that “if Ghana is to become self-sufficient, it is now.”
Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, Archbishop Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, made a strong case for a paradigm shift in mindset and attitude to achieve the vision because the country was losing sight of its values and virtues.
He said Ghanaians needed to commit to the values of honesty, transformation, handwork, systematic and patriotism and move from cynicism, mistrust and selfishness, which he said was more dangerous than corruption.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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