According to the World Bank Country Director, Pierre Laporte, the number of Ghanaians living in extreme poverty has expanded beginning around 2023, with over a fourth of the populace by and by living on under two dollars (GH¢24) a day.
And he added that, inflation over the recent years, had dissolved the purchasing power of Ghanaian families as salaries had not kept pace.
“It is expected that the current economic woes the country has endured may have pushed many more Ghanaians into poverty, and food insecurity worsened by the last quarter of 2022 when inflation was at its peak,” Mr Laporte said.
The weight of the challenges, especially high inflation and low growth, had fallen on all, but particularly on the weak fragments of the populace, he proceeded.
Pierre Laporte was speaking at a function to mark End Poverty Day at the World Bank Office in Accra Thursday October 19.
This event was on the theme: “Delivering growth to people through better jobs in Ghana”.
However, the World Bank Director was hopeful peoples’ prosperity could be improved by guaranteeing more equitable access to health, education and basic infrastructure to all Ghanaians regardless of their background.
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He said while the government of Ghana attempted to address the ongoing emergency and to reestablish structural reforms to preserve the country’s long-term growth prospects and build economic resilience.
“Bolstering long-term growth prospects will require policies that support investment and human capital development, as well as buttressing resilience and crisis preparedness, especially in agriculture and food systems,” he said.
Mr Laporte explained that “well targeted investments” could create better jobs, reduce income inequality and boost productivity.
“Jobs and employment are the surest way to reduce poverty and inequality.
Impact is further multiplied in communities and across generations if we purposefully empower women and girls, and young people”.
“The World Bank is transforming through the urgency of a new playbook which focuses on enhancing and modernising our financing capacity, delivery model and efficiency of delivery, among others, to drive inclusive development that does not come at the cost of the vulnerable on the planet, leading to better quality of life and jobs for people,” he said.
In light of this, a few business visionaries (entrepreneurs) said there were a lot of jobs out there that required some particular skills that were not taught in the classroom, hence the need for young graduates to look beyond the classroom for skills acquisition.
According to them, a lot of job openings were posted online on a daily basis that were not filled due to the lack of skills and experience. Therefore, they are also calling on the World Bank to provide funding for private businesses that had shown interest in preparing young people for the job market to improve the employability of young graduates in the country.
