Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, Minister of State in charge of Special Initiatives has stated that Ghana’s Labour Export Programme holds the potential to bring in between $10 billion and $20 billion annually if properly structured.
Addressing the media, Mr. Agyekum highlighted the opportunity for Ghana to diversify its revenue beyond traditional commodities like cocoa and gold.
He drew comparisons with other countries that have successfully harnessed labour export to boost national revenues.
“In the past, people were looking at only Philippines being the main country driving such a policy. But now, almost everywhere in the world, it is happening. Even in Africa…countries like Philippines made, I think, not I think, they made 179 billion pesewas in a year. Translating into about 135 billion dollars in a year. A lot of money. If it comes to this country, it’s more than whatever you can talk of,” Mr. Agyekum noted.
He emphasized that Ghana could diversify its revenue streams beyond traditional commodities such as cocoa and gold.
“Normally in Ghana, we talk about cocoa, we talk about gold, we talk about all those things. And we have to do the statistics as journalists here. How much do coco brings into the country? How much is gold? How much is this bringing into the country? And we are complaining every day that we have situation in terms of job, employment, and all those things,” he said.
The Minister stressed that countries such as India, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco have earned substantial revenue from labour export.
“In India, for example…in 2023, they made 126 billion dollars. Fast forward, in 2024, I think they make 130 something billion dollars out of this…Egypt…Labor export gave them about 35 billion dollars coming into the countries…Tunisia or Morocco made about 11 or so billion dollars out of labor export. So I think we have a huge potential in that area.”
He added that careful planning and skills training would be crucial for success.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
