The Vice President and Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has stated that, as President of Ghana, he will focus on three key areas to empower the country’s youth.

Addressing the youth in a special televised event from Accra on Sunday night, Dr Bawumia said that after extensive engagement, he has identified that prioritising education, skills training, and job creation will empower Ghana’s youth, and he is committed to achieving this as President.

"From what I gathered in my interactions with you, I can summarise the priorities of the majority of you into three main categories: Education, Skills, and Jobs," Dr Bawumia said.

"Once you have an education and acquire employable skills, what is left is to thrive in an economic environment that generates a large and expansive pool of good jobs with fair pay, whether as an entrepreneur, self-employed, or an employee," Dr Bawumia explained.

Expanding educational opportunities for all

Dr Bawumia said that his government would continue the significant investment in education seen over the past eight years and further improve on it by expanding opportunities to ensure easier access to education at all levels.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the NPP government, recognising and understanding that there are conditions that create sustainable and decent jobs, has implemented numerous policies to this effect. The Free SHS Policy, with over 5 million beneficiaries, is one of the critical policies that lays the foundation for decent and sustainable jobs. Expansion of second-cycle education through the Free SHS Policy enhances the skills of all beneficiaries who might otherwise have fallen off the education ladder due to financial challenges," he said.

"Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has not been left out. It is essential to train Ghana’s labour force with the right skills needed to drive industrialisation. Over the last eight years, we have made significant investments in TVET, including Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The vision is to prepare the country's emerging labour force with the necessary training, skills, and education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This also addresses the mismatch between the skills of the labour force and the demands of industry."

"My government will build on this by expanding educational opportunities for all," he assured.

Creating a friendly economic environment for jobs

As part of his three key focus areas to empower the youth, Dr Bawumia emphasised that alongside education and skills training, he will leverage public policy to sustain and expand Ghana’s rebounding economy, fostering business growth and job creation by creating a favourable economic environment for jobs.

"A conducive economic environment is essential for creating decent and sustainable jobs," Dr Bawumia said.

"With our philosophy of economic liberalism, we believe it is our responsibility to create an enabling environment for the private sector, which we consider our engine of growth, to thrive. Among other things, a stable macroeconomic environment is crucial."

"My government will reduce the fiscal burden on government by engaging the private sector. Under the two-term administration of His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, we have implemented many social safety nets like Free SHS and Free TVET. With these social safety nets in place, my government will now focus on job creation and wealth creation by the private sector for all Ghanaians."

"My administration will incentivise the private sector to complement the government in providing infrastructure and other services to reduce government expenditure and improve maintenance."

"The private sector will be encouraged to build roads, schools, hostels, and housing for the government to rent or lease-to-own. The demand for road construction is immense, placing a heavy burden on the budget. I believe that the private sector should finance the construction and maintenance of roads through public-private partnership (PPP) concession arrangements. Furthermore, the government will shift towards leasing rather than purchasing vehicles, printing equipment, and other assets. The private sector will be responsible for maintaining this equipment. This approach will enable the budget to save significant funds annually across various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies."

"This policy will invigorate the private sector and create many jobs. Moving towards private sector provision of many public services would create a fiscal space of at least 3% of GDP annually (GH₵30 billion). This represents a significant paradigm shift."