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Economic growth will soon translate to jobs - Ofori-Atta

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, explained that the macro aspect would translate into the micro side and the effect would be felt soon.

He was speaking to Daily Graphic on the sidelines of the just-ended 2018 World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings in Washington DC.

He explained that the macro aspect would translate into the micro side and the effect would be felt soon.

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“We appreciate the concerns of the people that there are no jobs, but it will soon be over because we have worked hard to stabilise the economy and correct the macroeconomic imbalances to pave the way for better times ahead.”

He added that “A lot went wrong in the past and we inherited many gaps which we needed to take time to fill, and we are almost through with it and sooner than later, Ghanaians will see the full benefits of our work.”

He was answering questions in reaction to calls by the President of the World Bank, Mr Jim Yong Kim, for developing countries to translate their positive growth into wealth creation and opportunities.

Meanwhile, Mr Ofori-Atta said the special initiatives such as one-district, one-factory, will create more jobs when they are rolled out.

Mr Ofori-Atta also noted that efforts were underway to boost internal revenue generation to meet expenditure.

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He added that the government was working to pay all arrears owed contractors, after which more infrastructure contracts would be awarded, thereby leading to job creation.

“You are aware of the issues with the Auditor-General’s Report which revealed massive unwarranted claims by some contractors. We have been careful in paying them because we want to be very sure that we are not paying people for no work done or overpay people who don’t deserve what they are claiming,” he stated.

Ghana’s economy grew from 3.7 percent in 2016 to 8.5 percent in 2017. This growth rate is the fastest in five years but mainly on the back of oil and gas production.

However, some analyst has raised concerns that the real sectors of the economy are not thriving to absorb a large number of people without employment in the country.

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According to them, the growth is mainly on the back of oil and gas production, leaving the sectors that can generate employment such as agric and manufacturing still suffering.

This development has left a lot of university graduates without jobs and is, therefore, clamouring for avenues to become employable.

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