By Edward Dankwah, GNA
Accra, Feb. 11, GNA – Ghana has a clear opportunity to convert its progressive refugee policies into measurable economic gains, by removing administrative barriers and strengthening private sector partnerships, Amahoro Coalition has said
Findings from the Pathways to Employment country reports undertaken by Amahoro Coalition, said stakeholders examined employment access for Africa’s over 45 million forcibly displaced people.
Madam Mercy Kusiwaa Frimpong, the Strategy Custodian for Communications at Amahoro Coalition presenting the findings at a media roundtable, said it identified practical reforms that could benefit both refugees and host economies.
She said while Ghana’s Refugee Act of 1992 granted refugees the legal right to work, move freely, and access public services on par with nationals, the research revealed that administrative gaps systematically undermined these rights.
“What the evidence shows is that the problem is not hostility or lack of policy intent. It is the failure of systems to align, which turns documentation and procedure into unintended barriers to employment,” she added.
She said the study found that refugees must obtain work permits before securing formal employment, but the permit process required an employer’s letter of commitment, creating a circular dependency.
“Processing delays, which officially should take one week but often extend to months, cause refugees to lose job opportunities even after successful interviews,” she said
Mr Fred Mawuli Deegbe Jr, the Private Sector Partnerships Lead for West Africa at Amahoro Coalition, said refugee employment was fundamentally an economic and labour market issue rather than solely a humanitarian concern.
“Jobs do not happen in policy documents, they happen when businesses are confident enough to hire,” Mr Deegbe said.
“If we reduce uncertainty for employers and focus on skills, refugees move from being seen as a challenge to being recognised as contributors to economic growth,” he added.
The research draws on a 15-country analysis examining persistent barriers preventing displaced persons from accessing formal employment across Africa.
He said obstacles consistently cluster around documentation challenges, unclear work authorisation, employer risk perceptions, and skills mismatches rather than outright legal prohibitions.
Ms Bathsheba Asati, the Principal Strategy Custodian for Growth at Amahoro Coalition, noted that refugee employment should be viewed through the lens of labour mobility and regional integration under frameworks such as ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Displacement is not a temporary issue for Africa, and neither is labour mobility. The question is whether existing systems can be adjusted to turn exclusion into opportunity, without creating entirely new structures,” Ms Asati said.
The research highlights that displaced populations are already active within regional labour markets, often informally, and formalising their participation would strengthen productivity and resilience.
Ms Asati, said governments need to rethink how identity systems, migration policy, and labour regulation interact, while businesses should shift toward skills-based hiring.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo