Africa
| Domestic Politics
Ghana
Dr. Bawumia Outlines Plan to Empower Ghana’s Youth with Education, Jobs, and Digital Skills
Dallas Hughes
Nov 5, 2024
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia a Vice President of the Republic of Ghana
Last Sunday, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia addressed Ghana’s youth at the Borteyman Sports Complex in Accra, sharing his vision and priorities for their future.
In his speech, Dr. Bawumia emphasized that the development and welfare of the youth would be top priorities if he were elected President, outlining a plan to empower young Ghanaians through education, skills training, and job creation.
Highlighting the importance of education, Dr. Bawumia stated it is essential for youth development. He committed to expanding access to education, especially at the tertiary level, building on the success of Free SHS.
He also linked skills training with education, specifically through TVET programs, and shared his intention to train one million youth in digital skills.
According to Dr. Bawumia, these pillars of education and skills training would prepare young Ghanaians for a job market he intends to expand with policies to generate millions of jobs.
"Once you have an education, and you acquire employable skills, what is left is to thrive in an economic environment which can generate a large and expansive pool of good jobs with good pay, whether as an entrepreneur, self-employed, or employee," he said.
Outlining his economic plans, Dr. Bawumia pledged to create a favorable economic environment to support job creation, mainly by supporting private sector growth, which he described as "our engine of growth."
He emphasized leveraging public policy to expand Ghana’s economy, creating fiscal space for infrastructure projects, and increasing job opportunities through expanded public infrastructure, such as the Agenda 111 hospitals, which would generate an estimated 72,000 jobs in the health sector.
Dr. Bawumia’s approach to job creation also includes supporting businesses with policies such as a "Buy Ghana First" initiative to stimulate local industries, establishing an SME Bank to meet financing needs, incentivizing start-ups with tax credits, and adjusting electricity tariffs to support business growth.
Dr. Bawumia proposed reforms in the agriculture, housing, mining, and digital economy sectors to further stimulate employment.
In agriculture, he plans to use technology and irrigation for food security and job creation, establishing agricultural enclaves based on regional advantages and supporting agricultural processing.
In housing, Dr. Bawumia outlined a plan inspired by Singapore’s public housing model, partnering with the private sector to create affordable housing, which he believes would drive job creation across various trades within the housing market.
For mining, he intends to prioritize environmentally sustainable small-scale mining, aiming to formalize and support local miners in scaling up operations.
A major part of Dr. Bawumia’s vision for job creation centers on building a digital economy. His plan includes training one million youth in digital skills to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and providing digital and software skills for employment in Ghana and abroad.
Additionally, he pledged venture funding for tech projects and a $100 million Fintech Fund to drive innovation in payments and financial services.
Dr. Bawumia’s comprehensive job creation plan, if implemented, would aim to empower Ghanaian youth and stimulate economic growth through strategic investments in various sectors, supporting a sustainable future for Ghana’s next generation.
