By Mariatou Ngum & Alhagie Babou Jallow
The President His Excellency Adama Barrow on Friday, November 18th launched the National Employment Policy and Action Plan, 2022-2026 at a ceremony held at the Sir Dawda Kai raba Jawara TInternational Conference Centre, in Bijilo
Speaking at the event, which coincided with the official closure of the TEKKI FII Programme, the President said the Policy and Plan aim to upscale the results and cement the foundations of his government’s job centred growth agenda. “The documents need no formal justification here. Employment creation has been a top priority for my government since 2017. It is at the core of our National Development Plan (NDP) and remains a top priority in our new Green Recovery-focused NDP,” he stated.
He affirmed that the Policy target is to create 150,000 jobs over a period of five years. “This is an ambitious objective but, with the concerted efforts of the Government and our partners, it is attainable. We are committed to the target, and I call on our partners to support this worthy cause”.
He reported that The Gambian population is growing rapidly at a rate of 3.3% per year and that the 2018 Labour Force Survey sets the unemployment rate at 35.2%, with youth unemployment at 42.1%.
He said the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment is currently conducting a comprehensive National Labour Force Survey to update the data on the labour market Meanwhile, the National Employment Policy and Action Plan are to form the cornerstone to tackle unemployment and underemployment and to improve living standards in the country. They seek to accelerate job creation, in accordance with the objective of stimulating the private sector as the engine of growth,” he remarked. The President called on Gambians to rally behind his government’s employment agenda, and to work with our institutions and businesses across all sectors to transform it into reality.
The Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MoTIE) Hon. Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof said the policy and plan set the foundation to scale their efforts in support of employment creation.
