The National Youth organizer of the New Patriotic Party, Sammi Awuku, says the promise by President Mahama to create three million jobs, if Ghanaians give him another term, is just another façade to win votes, and must therefore be treated with the contempt it deserves.
According to Sammi Awuku, “For Mahama to promise to create jobs is like Satan promising to lead you to Heaven. It is simply oxymoronic! He has been serpentine with his words and Ghanaians have seen through his deceit, lies and lip servicing.”
The NPP youth organizer, in a press statement issued yesterday, observed that the Mahama-led NDC government has nothing appreciable to show, after being in power for eight years and having borrowed some $40 billion worth of loans.
“Ghanaians know all too well the consequences of the toxic mix of a record five years of ‘dumsor’, 8 years of incompetent management of the economy leading to unstable currency, high taxes, high lending, high inflation, and high interest rates - 8 years of unbridled corruption, and 8 years of insensitive and reckless policies that have hurt agriculture and manufacturing and, ultimately, jobs,” Sammi Awuku stated.
He added that President Mahama, considering Ghanaians as people with short memories, had decided to deliberately impoverish them and turn around to dole out freebies to buy their votes.
Sammi Awuku recalled that President John Mahama, as vice President and Head of the Economic Management, in 2010 directed all sectors to mainstream job creation into their programmes, with a call on Ministers to produce sector blueprints for job creation. However, that could not materialize, he added.
“The blueprint that saw the light of day was one where job creation schemes became avenues for ‘create, loot and share’. GYEEDA and SADA readily come to my mind, where hundreds of millions of dollars were looted in the name of creating jobs for the youth and developing the economy of the North.
“To the NDC, job creation is just an excuse to device schemes to steal in the name of the suffering masses of Ghana. That is why the NDC would sack 110,000 young Ghanaians employed under NPP’s NYEP, and after seven years in office, it is still struggling to employ 70,000 under the scheme that replaced NYEP: GYEEDA and YES,” he noted.
On the numerous “phantom” jobs created by the NDC, including the 1.6 million so-called jobs created by their first two years in office , according to the then Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the National Youth Organizer wondered why the government would play propaganda with serious issues concerning Ghanaians.
On the agriculture sector, which has been neglected by the NDC government, Sammi Awuku maintained that President Mahama had decided to only focus on an 8,000 acre greenhouse farm in the NDC stronghold, the Volta region.
He stated: “The only notable agriculture business that has received special attention by the President is an 8,000-acre greenhouse farm in the Volta Region that he has helped two sisters from Kenya, Irene and Everlyne Nthoki, to set up. You may ask yourselves what is so special about these two average Kenyans, one of them a former air hostess, that the President of our Republic will help them secure millions of dollars to set up an 8,000-acre farm in the Volta Region, when Ghanaian farmers are struggling for subsidized support to maintain their subsistence farming.”
“Should we be happy about the fact that whiles millions of Ghanaians worry about losing their jobs or not getting a job next year, our President has already made plans for his post-presidency employment? How can a president who cares so much about his own farming plans do nothing to save small and medium scale Ghanaian farmers from going under?” he asked.
Sammi Awuku held that the last four years under President John Mahama had been the worst period for job losses over the last two generations, worse than the IMF-inspired structural adjustment retrenchment of the 1980s.
“The list is long and still growing: Blue Skies reported over 1000 workers being laid off; Gold Fields reported 500 job losses; AngloGold, another 400 loses; Newmont Mining fired 3,080 staff; Coco Cola Bottling let go 250 workers; the textile industry laid off 23,000 workers; the timber industry reported 70,000 jobs lost due to years of industry neglect; the lack of support for the steel industry has resulted in 9,000 job losses both directly and indirectly; Karpower, that came in to help fix the power crisis, even laid off 60 employees; the African Sun Hotel was forced to sell off to IBIS Hotel, losing 100 workers; 180 Mantrac workers are now at home; Cadbury has also sacked 58 Ghanaians. The list goes on and on,” he added.
Referring to an IMF report, Sammi Awuku disclosed a plan by the NDC to embark on a comprehensive programme to retrench public sector workers by 2017.
“John Mahama has nothing to offer Ghanaians but unemployment. The young people of Ghana have seen through his deception and are getting ready to vote him out! They need change and they deserve change. Wednesday December 7, 2016 is our chance to secure our future and vote for Nana Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party. We will vote for a party that has an agenda for jobs and has the commitment, competence, and integrity to create a society of prosperity and equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of the circumstances of your birth,” he stated.