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Workforce must move to higher productivity—Dr Baah
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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
Construction of a major underground stormwater drain along the Dr. Busia Highway within the Kaneshie enclave will commence on September 7, 2026.
The Project Coordinator for the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, Dr. Kwadwo Ohene Sarfo, announced this at a special media briefing on Wednesday.
According to him, the works will involve the construction of a double-cell underground rectangular drain measuring approximately 10 metres wide and 1.95 kilometres long, stretching from Pamprom Junction to First Light Junction.
The new drain will replace the existing two 1.2-metre diameter pipes, which are inadequate to carry the volume of stormwater in the area.
Dr. Sarfo said the drain will connect at one end to the recently completed section within the Accra Academy campus and at the other end to the existing drain at Pamprom Junction.
He said the construction is expected to run from September 2026 to October 2027.
The project forms part of government’s broader flood prevention and mitigation programme aimed at addressing perennial flooding in Accra.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has withdrawn from the party’s National Chairmanship race.
In a statement issued yesterday, Chairman Wontumi who is currently serving a 20-year jail term said his decision was driven by his love for the party and his unwillingness to let his personal circumstances distract the NPP from its rebuilding efforts.
“There are moments in the life of a man when the heart wants to continue, but duty demands sacrifice. Moments when one must quietly set aside personal ambition, not because the dream has died, but because the family he loves must not be made to carry his burden. Today, I find myself at such a painful moment,” he wrote.
He disclosed that after many nights of prayer, sober reflection and consultations with his family, legal team, party elders, campaign team and trusted supporters, he concluded that his present situation must not become an additional burden on the NPP.
“This is not the decision my heart desired, but sometimes, true love requires us to release what we deeply want in order to protect what we love even more,” he added.
Recounting his years of service, Chairman Wontumi said he had served the party with everything within him, walking through heat and rain, travelling to remote communities and standing with the grassroots in both victory and defeat.
“For many years, I have served the NPP with everything within me… The NPP is not merely a political party to me. It is my family. It is my home. It is a cause to which I have dedicated a significant part of my life,” he stated.
He explained that the party, already carrying the pain of electoral defeat and the huge responsibility of preparing for the future, should not be made to carry his personal weight.
“That is why I cannot allow my present situation or personal ambition to distract the party from the difficult work of rebuilding. I cannot ask the party to carry my weight when it is already carrying the pain of defeat and the enormous responsibility of preparing for the battle ahead. I would rather carry this pain quietly than allow the party I love to suffer because of me,” he said.
He further sympathized with his supporters across the 16 regions, acknowledging that the decision would be painful for many who had sacrificed for his campaign.
“To my teeming supporters across all sixteen regions, I know this message will hurt. I know many of you will read it with tears in your eyes because I understand the sacrifices you have made for this journey,” he said.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
