President John Dramani Mahama has outlined a strategy focused on private sector growth and industrial expansion to tackle rising youth unemployment, while dismissing concerns over the privatisation of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Addressing labour leaders on Tuesday (17 March), the President described unemployment among young people as a “serious and explosive issue,” citing data showing that nearly 290,000 applicants competed for just 5,000 positions in the security services.
He stressed that the public sector alone cannot absorb the growing workforce, noting that it employs fewer than one million people out of a population of over 30 million.
“The private sector is where we can absorb the maximum number of people,” he said, highlighting plans to boost agriculture, agro-processing, and industrialisation as key drivers of job creation.
On the energy sector, President Mahama sought to allay fears about job losses, insisting that there are no plans to privatise ECG. Instead, he explained that the proposed reforms involve private sector participation in billing and metering to improve efficiency and revenue collection.
“ECG will not be privatised,” he reiterated, adding that the company will retain control over power procurement and infrastructure while private operators handle revenue collection under a bulk supply arrangement.
He argued that inefficiencies in the energy sector currently cost the country about $1.5 billion in subsidies—resources he said could otherwise be used to improve workers’ salaries and public services.
The President also underscored the need for sustained economic growth, fiscal discipline, and investment in industry to create sustainable employment opportunities and improve livelihoods.
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