GrEEn Project supports Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations in Ghana
On Friday, 11 February 2022, SNV Ghana’s European Union-funded, Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) Project, handed over Information and Communications Technology (ICT) equipment to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) in Accra to be used in collecting, documenting and facilitating the sharing of information regarding the implementation of the National Green Jobs Strategy.
SNV country director hands over ICT equipment to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations
SNV and Ministry colleagues during the joint meeting and ceremony
'I am very keen to develop our relationship further and to hand over these items to the Ministry to facilitate your work better. I am also very happy we have been able to work together with the Ministry on Public-Private Dialogues to inform the National Green Jobs Strategy. SNV is willing to continue supporting the Ministry in implementing the Strategy. I also thank the European Union, who have provided funding for this project', stated Anjo van Toorn, Country Director of SNV in Ghana.
'The National Green Jobs Strategy is extremely relevant to Ghana- it is not only relevant, it is also urgent - if you look at how the climate is impacting on Ghana and on our lives and how it will continue to impact us more and more in the coming future, it is key we are prepared for this and work together on the Green Jobs Strategy', he added.
Emma Ofori Agyemang, Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations conveyed the Ministry’s appreciation for the items, 'With our Green Jobs Strategy in place we can only do our best and our best can only be if SNV also continues to support us to achieve the modest gains we are to make so thank you for your support', she stated.
Kizito Ballans, Chief Director of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations received the items from Anjo van Toorn, stating, 'On the issue of green jobs, well everyone is witness to what climate change is doing, the havoc it is causing so obviously, it is incumbent on every country to contribute as early as possible. Right now, we all know that unemployment of the youth is a major problem for us in this country and everyone recognises it so once we have a Project that targets the youth in terms of employment, obviously we will all be happy about it.'
The items include eight (8) laptops and bags, eight (8) multi-purpose printers, nine (9) 4G Mobile Wi-Fi modems and one (1) camera.
The provision of the items by the GrEEn Project forms part of the European Union and SNV in Ghana’s efforts to contribute to Ghana’s greening agenda.
In 2020, SNV signed an MoU with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to work together to create green jobs and provide youth employment at the local level to support Ghana in its transition into a circular economy.
Through the GrEEn project, SNV focuses on improving the employability and entrepreneurship capabilities of youth in the agriculture, energy and WASH sectors, in addition to supporting Small, Medium Enterprises that contribute to green and climate resilient local economies with incubation and/or acceleration.
Written by: Deborah Lomotey, Communications Advisor, GrEEn project.