The National Youth Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mustapha Salam, has described the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s youth job-creation initiatives as a “farce” and a “scam”.
He cited programmes including Adwumawura, the One Million Coders initiative and the government’s 24-hour economy policy as examples of what he described as unfulfilled promises to Ghanaian youth.
Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, September 1, Mr Salam said the NPP had warned young people during the 2024 election campaign that the NDC’s job-creation promises were unrealistic.
“I think [our plan] was much more credible than what the NDC was presenting in Agenda 133 [24-hour economy]. And so I kept saying it was a farce,” he said.
He claimed that although the government had promised to create 100,000 jobs through the programme, fewer than 10,000 opportunities had so far been created.
“They promised 100,000. They have not been able to do the 100,000. They’ve done under 10,000 or so under the Adwumawura programme. And even the 10,000, they’ve not been able to continue,” he said.
He also accused the government of failing to deliver on the One Million Coders programme.
“One Million Coders programme. They have not been able to do it. Forget it. They are just joking there. They are just joking. It’s not there. Everything is a farce,” he said.
Mr Salam further questioned the feasibility of implementing a three-shift system under the 24-hour economy policy at institutions such as the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
“There’s no way you can make TOR, GNPC, NPA run three shifts; it’s not just possible to do so,” he stated.
He said the NDC’s campaign promises had appealed strongly to young voters ahead of the 2024 elections, particularly after the NPP’s eight years in government.
“The lofty promises that the NDC was making were quite, you know, sweet to the ear, for the youth. And today, the same youth are on social media, you know, feeling scammed that indeed all that you told us was a lie,” he said.
Mr Salam also mentioned what he described as unfulfilled promises on the automatic rotation of nurses and the recruitment of teachers, arguing that the government had failed to meet the expectations it created among young people.
He maintained that the NPP had offered more practical solutions to youth unemployment.
“We gave them practical solutions to the problem. Not the fanciful promise,” he said.
