Public Agenda (Accra)
Basiru Adam
25 July 2008
If it wins the upcoming elections, a CPP government would, as an emergency measure, create "over 500,000 well-paying jobs" across the country, the party's newly launched manifesto has stated.
The job creation would be under the "Ghana Emergency Employment Programme (GEEP) and the 22,000 polling stations would be used as "staging points" to start the plantation of over 7 million hectres of almond trees in selected parts of the country.
"Almond trees, which require less rain and have a shorter gestation period (2.5 years) than palm trees (5-6 years) and other tree crops, will form the basis of a bio-fuel industry with potential to create millions of jobs, earn the country billions of dollars in foreign exchange, and help us meet our energy requirements while contributing to the growth of other industries "
In addition to the GEEP, the CPP says its government would work with existing businesses to expand their operations through enhanced productivity and improved access to credit, markets, modern technology, and scientific management practices.
It would also create conditions for rapid creation of new businesses through tax incentives, reduction in bureaucratic red tape, and increased market information.
The party's human resource development policy would seek to create "a 21st century labour force made up of highly educated , highly motivated , highly industrious and healthy workers in safe and modern work environments."
This would include a migration policy to promote the equitable distribution of skilled labour across the country while providing appropriate incentives for trained professionals to stay and for those abroad to return home.
The CPP hopes to improve the quality and quantity of labour in the country by investing in skills training and aligning it with the demands of the economy.
In so doing, access and quality to education would be improved for all Ghanaians while special emphasis would be given to women, the youth and people with disabilities.
To promote labour studies, the manifesto states, the Labour College in Accra would be expanded and resourced to international standards for both Ghanaian and foreign students.
The CPP would also replace the Fair Wages Commission, which focuses mostly on public sector wages, with a National Incomes Commission, whose work will cover both the state and non-state sectors as well as the formal and informal sectors.
"The new commission, among other things, will regularly report trends and undertake research into various types of incomes, such as wages and salaries in the various sectors; proprietor's income; rental income; and farmers' income, as well as the conditions that influence changes in these incomes. The Commission's work will be the cornerstone of government policies to raise national income and fight poverty."
The party says it will also work tirelessly towards combating child labour within the context of existing laws and international conventions by attacking the cultural and economic factors that sustain the practice.
It would also accelerate the creation of a modern labour market system to facilitate job search nation-wide and improve the quality of employment and earnings, especially for the youth.
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