Month: May 2023

In its new Monitor on the World of Work report, ILO shows that while in high-income countries, only 8.2 per cent of people willing to work are jobless, that number rises to over 21 per cent in low-income countries – or one in every five people.

Low-income countries in debt distress are worst affected, with more than one in four people who want to work unable to secure employment.

Widening jobs gap

ILO’s Assistant Director-General for Jobs and Social Protection, Mia Seppo, said that global unemployment was expected to fall below pre-pandemic levels, with a projected rate of 5.3 per cent in 2023, equivalent to 191 million people.

However, low-income countries, especially those in Africa and the Arab region, were unlikely to see such declines in unemployment this year.

The 2023 global jobs gap, which refers to those who want to work but do not have a job, is projected to rise to 453 million people, she said, with women 1.5 times more affected than men.

Africa hit hardest

The UN agency further indicated that Africa’s labour market had been hit the hardest during the pandemic, which explained the slow pace of recovery on the continent.

Unlike wealthy nations, debt distress across the continent and a very limited fiscal and policy space, meant that few countries in Africa could put in place the kind of comprehensive stimulus packages they needed to spur economic recovery, ILO explained.

Inadequate social protection

Ms. Seppo stressed that without improvement in people’s employment prospects, there would be no sound economic and social recovery. Equally important is investment in welfare safety nets for those who lose their jobs, the ILO senior official insisted, which is often inadequate in low-income countries.

According to the agency’s research, boosting social protection and expanding old age pensions would increase gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in low and middle-income countries by almost 15 per cent over a decade.

Social investment benefit

The annual cost of such measures would be around 1.6 per cent of GDP – a “large but not insurmountable” investment. Ms. Seppo suggested that the amount could be financed by a mix of social contributions, taxes and international support.

“There is an economic gain to investing in social protection”, she said.

Ms. Seppo also insisted that the need to create fiscal space for social investment in low-income countries should be considered “with urgency as part of the ongoing global discussion on the reform of the international financial architecture.”

Prepare for the future of work

While the unemployed divide projected by the report was worrisome, it was “not inevitable”, Ms. Seppo said, and the right concerted action on jobs and social protection funding could support a recovery and reconstruction which leaves no one behind.

In calling for improved capacity to develop “coherent, data-informed labour market policies” that protect the most vulnerable, the ILO senior official insisted that these should have an emphasis on upskilling and reskilling the labour force to prepare it for a “greener, more digital world of work”.

Source: EMM/ UN

Mr John Nkaw, Country Director of ActionAid Ghana has expressed need for government and other stakeholders to institute measures towards addressing the inadequate furniture situation at some public basic schools in the country. He said the inadequate furniture situation had negative impact on the education of children adding ‘The lack of proper seating and writing tools in our public schools is forcing pupils and students to sit on the floor, which is uncomfortable and distracting.’ Mr Nkaw made the call at an event dubbed: ‘Regional Forum on Furniture Deficit in Public Basic Schools in Northern Region’. It was organised in Tamale by ActionAid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, in partnership with the Ghana Education Service on the theme: ‘Complementing Government’s Efforts to address the Furniture Deficit in Public Basic Schools in Ghana.’ It brought together various key stakeholders in the education sector to discuss a survey report conducted by ActionAid Ghana in collaboration with the Northern Network for Education Development (NNED) in some selected public basic schools in the Tamale Metropolis and the Sagnarigu Municipality. Mr Nkaw argued that, even though the issue of furniture deficit in public basic schools was not new, it had become more acute in recent years, adding ‘Despite government’s efforts to address the issue, progress has been low, and many schools are still without proper furniture.’ The Ministry of Education estimated that as of 2021, about 596,000 Kindergarten pupils, 1.28 million primary school pupils and 425,000 Junior High School Students lacked dual desks in public basic schools. Hajia Katumi Natogmah Attah, Northern Regional Director of Education, said the furniture situation in the region was adversely affecting pupils’ confidence and comfort to stay in school and called for collective efforts to change the situation. Mr Alhassan Seibu, Northern Regional Statistics Officer of the Ghana Education Service, who presented the survey conducted in the region in 2021-2022 academic years, said there was enrollment of 156,881 pupils in the kindergarten level with 52,643 available furniture and 104,238 furniture deficit. The survey report also recorded 339,588 enrollment in the Primary schools with an available furniture of 149,358 and 190,230 deficit. Meanwhile, the Junior High Schools recorded an enrollment of 99,855 and available furniture of 73,207 and 26,648 deficit. Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, commended ActionAid Ghana for the initiative, saying ‘The furniture situation in the region was quite dire and requires all stakeholders to act immediately.’ He urged various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to prioritise channelling most of their revenues towards addressing the furniture situation in their areas. Mr Samuel Oppong Kwabiah, Programmes Manager at Children Believe, in a solidarity message, said the furniture situation was more of human right issue, which denied many children from accessing formal education in the region. He called on the government to increase budgetary allocation to the education sector to help address the situation.

Source: Ghana News Agency