Ghana’s Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has told new graduates to venture into entrepreneurship to create jobs for themselves and others since the public sector payroll is full to the brim.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Mr Ofori-Atta said: “That payroll is full because we are spending some 60% of our revenue on remunerating some 650,000 people”.

“That is not sustainable”, he added.

Mr Ofori-Atta, who is a co-founder of investment bank Databank, told the graduates: “You have the skills set to be able to do what you have to do”.

“Our responsibility as a government is to create the environment and the macro stability, currency stability and ensure that you have access to the relevant skills and financing.”

“This budget that we are going to be doing is going to really focus on the youth. We will have a programme in it looking at the youth and demands and how we can structure … the Ghana Obaatanpa Programme to ensure that the youth become their own bosses, and how to become entrepreneurs.”