Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations-The Business Brief

Creating Full Employment in Ghana

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Prepared for The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations

Hon. Nii Armah Ashitey The Minister

Prepared by

Herbert Tombia Director of Administration

Centre for the Development of Human Resources

World Trade Centre 2nd Floor, Independence Avenue

Accra, Ghana Tel: +233571962378 Fax: +233571962378

E-mail: [email protected]

Submitted on April 29, 2013


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Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary......................................................................................................... ........................4

2. The Relevance of Setting up a Back Office on Behalf of The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations............................................................................................................................................5

3. The Qualifications and Experiences of the Management Team of CDR in running the Back Office....................................................................................................................... ..........................6

4. The Advantages of Engaging the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR)........................................................................................................................ .........................7

5. The Disadvantages of not setting the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR)........................................................................................................................ .........................8

6. The Possible Line of Achievement within Four Years........................................................................ ...9

7. Why the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations should invest in the Establishment of this Back Office?................................................................................................................. .....................10

8. The Financial Returns to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations....................................11

9. The Make-up of the Executive Board of the Corporation…………….........………………………………………………12

10. The Far-reaching Approach to achieving the Overall Objectives of Full Employment for All…………13

11. Why Time is now of the Essence……………………………………………………………………………………………………………14

12. Conclusion............................................................................................................... ..............................15


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1. Executive Summary


The Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) is the key agency in the world to assist the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to secure 100% employment rate in Ghana. This is because CDR has the secret and model of just helping the Ministry and Government of the day to achieve just that, using existing models from Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and so on.

Full employment rate can, and will always be gained, if the natural resources, human and material, are all harnessed to meet the industrial needs of the country and foreign trade as well. In fact, Ghana with a population of twenty-four million, having only 89% of the workforce employed, and 11% unemployed. Moreover, most of the employed people are either dissatisfied or not properly remunerated to make ends meet. The natural resources in the country are not appropriately harnessed to cover the interest of the workforce and retirees. Retirees can barely make ends meet. Ghana is amongst the countries with the lowest income brackets. Now it needs the expertise of a flexible and adaptable private-sector organization to fix these problems. It is not possible to attain maximum employment rate, high wages, and a great standard of living for the people with the same approach that has been used in the afore-past. It is time to make innovations, to make sure that every school graduate has a job, a career change, great income to live above the poverty line, and plan adequately for retirement. With the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) believing in the current system of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the organization knows too well that it simply takes more than the contemporary paradigms in the Ministry to deliver a 100% employment rate to Ghanaians and residents alike. Hence, the need to support the Ministry to achieve its overall objectives.

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2. The Relevance of Setting up a Back Office on Behalf of the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations


It is worthy of mention on this Brief that the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations has in the past been struggling without end to provide maximum employment to Ghanaians and other foreigners that have settled down in Ghana for quite a long while now, yet not meeting with the expected target of giving the masses full employment in every sector of the economy. This is because its huge organization is run on a government bureaucracy that works on established conventional practices other than moving in tandem with the developments and evolutionary trends occurring at home and abroad. By having the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) as an arsenal with a monitoring and absorbing paradigm of best practices in place, the Ministry can speedily simplify the complexities of running the department in a cumbersome and sluggish form. Therefore, bringing in this Back Office will enhance the process of employment and labour relations in Ghana forthwith.

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3. The Qualifications and Experiences of the Management Team of CDR in running the Back Office


The founders and management of the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) has exposure to widespread maximum-employment models in Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Brunei. The management has taken the time and pains to research these full-employment models, and have found good answers for the Ghana economy and business environment. The Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) will, therefore, take the bull by the horn and embark on working on a suitable model with the support of the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations to meet this end as soon as possible. Mr. Selassie Nyadzi is the Director of Corporate Affairs with great skill-set on human-resource development. Mr. Paul T. Patrick is the Director of Finance with finesse for best financial practices in the labour market. Mr. Herbert Tombia is the Director of Administration with a great deal of capacity for planning, implementation, and delivering on targeted objectives, all in the employment market.

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4. The Advantages of Engaging the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR)


The Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) will assist the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations with the efficient implementation of the overall objectives of his ministry. It shall also bring in fresh ideas to strengthen and empower the effectiveness of the Ministry to operate at its optimum. It will always give a full report on the situation of employment-related issues in Ghana for adequate planning. By having full employment in Ghana, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations will have widespread accolade or awards from members of the public, institutions, and governmental agencies. Like what goes on in the developed world, especially in the U.S., the Back Office will accomplish what the Ministry will otherwise not be able to achieve due to its bureaucratic nature and style of doing business. By and large, with the inputs from CDR, the Ministry will be poised to raise the bar on employment, improve on the salary structure of the masses, and enhance the standard of living of the people.

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5. The Disadvantages of not setting the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR)


By not having a Back Office, such as the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) in place to complement and attain the heights of maximum employment in Ghana, Ghanaians remain discontent with their educational achievements due to the inability to find good job openings in the economy. The Ghana environment will lack structural employment, and the populace will just be working on dysfunctional fields of expertise. Great talents, which would have otherwise contributed to the growth of the national economy, will be misplaced or displaced without tapping into their potentials to contribute to the overall development of the national economy. Ghana will remain a third world economy for as long as possible since the parameters that almost always lift other developed economies to attain maximum rate of employment are not put in place, or simply discounted without good rationale. The Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) is professional, and is capable of remedying the absence of progress in achieving full-scale employment in Ghana.

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6. The Possible Line of Achievement within Four Years


The term of office of the current Minister, Hon. Nii Armah Ashitey, lasts for four years. In order to achieve full employment rate for Ghana, the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) should be established in quick time. Its model of gaining 100% employment for Ghanaians should be activated within a short frame of time, so that results could be achieved before his tenure of office is over. Already, a few months has gone by. Therefore, it will be expedient for the Minister to quickly engage a legal practitioner to incorporate CDR, open a corporate bank account, get office space, procure furniture, equipment, and then three official motor vehicles to meet the need of mobility in a crowded and jam-packed traffic layout in Ghana. Once the go-ahead is administered by the Minister, the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) will commence work on reviewing existing methodologies in the Ministry, ongoing projects, and then raise the bar to generate employment for 11% of the unemployed labour force.

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7. Why the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations should invest in the Establishment of this Back Office?


There is no gainsaying the fact that the United States of America is the most powerful and rich economy in the world. Why? Because they practise a kind of democracy, human rights, and capitalism that favours steady development and growth of the national economy. Besides, the United States has different Back Offices as agencies that do the legwork on behalf of the government. When it comes to security, they have the Central Intelligence Agency. When it comes to governance, they have the Pentagon. When it comes to investments, they have the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, when it comes to employment, they hardly have any. Hence, the unemployment rate in the U.S. has had a toll on its citizenry and government. Ghana should imbibe the excellence that exists in other countries, and learn from the flaws of even developed economies. Bureaucracy has crippled the Greek economy and work force of late. The investment of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations is an asset, which remains in a private sector enterprise as investment. It is a gainful initiative that enhances the employment figures in Ghana in quick time.

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8. The Financial Returns to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations


The Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) will be incorporated as a private venture, just to take itself out of the bureaucracies of the public sector. However, it shall report to the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations on contractual basis. The organization reserves the right to run the internal and external affairs of its corporate agenda. It is wholly outside the control of the Ministry. It shall opt to run its affairs as a private limited liability company or publicly-listed company as the case may be. It could attract investments from donors, shareholders, and nominate its Board of Directors as it deems fit. However, presently, the Executive Board of Directors wishes to have the Minister, Director General, and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, and the three founding-members of CDR as the governorship structure of the company. Officers of the Ministry will be appointed as Non-executive Directors in the firm for as long as the management team thinks fit. CDR will also settle the total investment from the Ministry, and defray dividends if and when the organization becomes viable or self-sustaining.

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9. The Make-up of the Executive Board of the Corporation


The Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) is a very creative organization. It shall follow through with national and private enterprise policies of the government. Everything in its line of activity shall border on legitimacy. It will appoint its own Board of Directors without interference from any quarters. It shall, however, serve the overall interest of the Ministry. Upon incorporation, the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) will have a long-term contract with the Ministry, put the entire necessary infrastructure in place, and pursue the overall agenda of assisting the Ministry to achieve its objectives as a Back Office. The Minister, its Director General, and Permanent Secretary might be given the privilege to sit in as Non-executive Directors with possible compensations, subject to the approval of the Executive Board of Directors. More details will be furnished in this area when the Minister requests for a full proposal in the near future.

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10. The Far-reaching Approach to achieving the Overall Objectives of Full Employment for All


The Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) will conduct surveys; reach out to different governmental ministries and departments to explore the situation of employment-related issues. It may follow up on policy matters, which have direct bearing on human-resource development. It shall get the mortality rates of the populace from the Ministry of Health. It will conduct surveys and exploration activities in other countries with maximum employments rates. It shall make sure that graduate students, retirees, and the handicapped ones will all have gainful employment, and contribute to the overall development of the economy of Ghana. The organization will look into the affairs of labour unions, human rights associations, United Nations Millennium Goals, and the job placement of gender equality in all sectors of the economy. It will take a no-holds-barred approach to giving the strong belief onto the workforce in Ghana that with the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) set in place, they are rest-assured to get gainful employment in a lifetime.

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11. Why Time is now of the Essence


Again, there is no point emphasizing the fact that the theory of full employment in Ghana is in the doldrums if the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) is not established in quick time to assist the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations. The essence of this matter cuts across all probable human and physical barriers since its need has come of age. The global economy is now going in shambles, starting from the Greek economy to Spain. Unemployment is on the rise in Europe and a new economic recession is much in anticipation by global economic analysts. The establishment of the Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) will not be a blockade to any initiative of the Ministry. It shall rather be the stronghold of its success in the near future. The Executive Board of Directors is just on the lookout now to have the green light to execute its know-how on creating full employment in Ghana. The current Minister will be in office for four years, and the clock is ticking. Therefore, time is now of the essence to begin a new and an all-encompassing employment model to better the lives of all Ghanaians and its permanent residents alike.

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12. Conclusion


The Centre for the Development of Human Resources (CDR) will plan strategically year in, year out to provide employment for all school graduates in Ghana, not excluding the unemployed, job changers; pioneer better wages, good employment ethics, and assist the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, or the government of the day, to enact progressive workplace policies in order to better the lives of all Ghanaians and other alien residents that are settled in the country.

CDR believes that by bringing in the best workplace models in the world, and using its creative mechanisms to perform extraordinarily well, unemployment will be a thing of the past in Ghana. CDR will take account of the local populace, the number of foreigners who settle down in Ghana and vacate the country for good, the birth and death rates, the demography of the unemployable human resources, and then the existing workforce in the country to form a befitting mechanism in creating and providing jobs for the unemployed across the nation.

Decades of planning, decades of trial and error, has left 11% of the workforce in Ghana to be jobless. A great deal of time and effort is wasted on the existing old model of employing the human and natural resources in Ghana, so much so that well-industrialized countries take the raw materials in Ghana, make great products, and then sell back to its citizenry for a great profit. Now is the time for Ghana, through the means of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, attain full employment rate. CDR cannot wait to just do that through adequate Planning, Execution, and Delivery. This is an ultimate mark of CDR, and an advantage onto the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the government of the day, and Ghana as a nation.

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Director of Administration

Mr. Herbert Tombia

Director of Finance

Mr. Paul T. Patrick

Director of Corporate Affairs

Mr. Selassie Nyadzi


Documents

Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations-The Business Brief