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The national trade policy is inimical to job creation, Dr Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, Trades Union Congress (TUC) – Ghana, Director of Research and Policy in the Labour Research and Policy Institute, has said.

He said the large volumes of imports that have saturated the country’s markets meant Ghanaians’ were exporting jobs.

He said the country could create employment in the right quality and quantity if Ghanaians produce a significant proportion of what they consume.

Dr Otoo made these remarks on Thursday during his presentation dubbed “In Search of Solutions: Labour- Private Sector Partnership for Jobs” at a TUC Ghana Breakfast Meeting in Accra.

The meeting brought together executives of the TUC-Ghana, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Ghana Employers Association (GEA) and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCC).

The meeting was about employment or lack of employment and what labour and private sector could do to address the challenge.

Dr Otoo said for the private sector to expand, it must find market for what it produces externally or internally.

“The export market is difficult for most domestic firms: all the constraints we’ve mentioned make them uncompetitive on the export market,” he said.

He said the domestic market has been taken over by imports; stating that this was the result of an unbridled trade policy. 

“Our private sector is struggling. In such situations, what some countries have done is to find ways of shielding domestic firms that are vital sources of employment from the external competition,” Dr Otoo said.

“Our trade policy does the opposite: it overexposes our weak and fledgling private sector to external competition. Governments have repeatedly said that our domestic firms must compete. Well, they cannot compete given the challenges they face.”