Many individuals in Africa are quick to travel outside the continent for a better future. The hope for a better future had led many to even risk themselves to reach European countries. Others have also perished in their attempt. What most individuals have not realized is that economic freedom underpins the prosperous growth in the countries any young African aspire to be.
Economic freedom is the ability to prosper through the free exercise of economic activity while letting others do the same. Economic freedom and prosperity are interwoven. Once a country’s development policies do not advance economic freedom, such a country will breed poverty. Africa is dominating countries with less economic freedom. It is therefore not surprising to have five (5) African States constituting the bottom ten on the economic freedom index (2018) out of 190 countries.
Which country would you love to travel to, for work and make money? This was a question asked by Mr. Peter to the Participants of Opportunity Summit in Ghana. Interestingly, participants were mentioning European countries and the USA. Countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom always rank among the top ten of the Economic Freedom Index. “You may easily create wealth in the countries you have mentioned because they rank high in economic freedom and protection of property rights”, he said. Prosperity follows economic freedom. So without Economic Freedom, no amount of political promises can reduce the poverty of young Africans.
Mr. Peter engaged participants on the topic; The Philosophy of Job Creation. During his presentation, it was made clear that where there is Economic Freedom, there are job opportunities and the inverse is also true.
In Africa, job creation is not a problem, rather jobs that can create wealth is the problem. “With the many jobs individuals do, even in Ghana, if they cannot create wealth of it, then that is a serious challenge. This is because people tend to think of jobs as ends rather than means to creating wealth. Therefore, your jobs should be able to enable wealth creation,” he said.
Also, Mr. Peter emphasized that private individuals must lead in job creation and not government. “Government job creation programs only win votes and do not help individuals to create wealth. It is significant to know, that taxpayers are the employer, whereas government is the employee. This is the sad reality of the world and Ghana is not different. Taxpayers employ the government through voting, hence, young individuals should not put their hopes on the employee (Government) to employ them.”
According to Mr. Peter, “the Private Sector should drive the job creation agenda for wealth creation while government plays the role of providing security by protecting private properties and rights. The delivery of government functions has created jobs for certain people who tend to frustrate members of the private sectors in their various businesses. Such attitude is a bottleneck hindering the development of job creators in Ghana. The government must be limited to deliver services, protect rights and provide security”
Peter Bismark Kwofie, Executive Director of the Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation. He is an NGO/Think Tank Development Expert, policy research and private sector analyst. With his experience in Youth Employment policies and entrepreneurship development, Mr. Peter has been invited by an uncountable number of organizations and associations to Lecture on Government Employment Programs and mentorship. Mr. Peter Bismark Kwofie was one of the Speakers at the Opportunity Summit in Ghana. The Opportunity Summit is an event organized by Young Africans for Opportunities as part of its effort to ignite entrepreneurship among young individuals.
The Opportunity Summit in Ghana which took place at the Lecture Theatre, KNUST School of Medicine and Dentistry on 27th March 2021 was under the theme; Job Creation Opportunities: Developing Assets and Conscious Resources for Life After School.
The Opportunity Summit event was organized by Young Africans for Opportunities in collaboration with KNUST Students’ Parliament House, College of Humanities and Social Science, and the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences with support from Atlas Network (USA), Kingscel Technologies, Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation.
Article by
Nana Osei Bonsu
He is a 3rd year Economic student and a volunteer of Young Africans for Opportunities at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He aspires to be the next Financial Secretary for the Social Sciences Students Association (Socioso).
