Opinions of Sunday, 22 April 2018
Columnist: Ahmed Abubakar Saddique
I have been scanning through social media since the news broke about the 998 people working at the seat of presidency, the JUBILEE HOUSE as it has recently been named .
Many well meaning Ghanaians have had issues with the number . Some say it is outrageous to have 998 people at the seat of presidency. Others , went as far as saying, it is an avenue for job for boys . They went on to say , unlike the other administrations, this figure looks so scary and so on and so forth .
On the other hand, those defending the figure indicates the fact that , we need to create employment. The unemployment rate in Ghana has been high and so why are Ghanaians complaining when their own are been provided with jobs at the seat of the president ? They went on to justify how with that figure, they have been able to introduce the #Free-Shs, restored Nurses and teachers allowances, increased growth in the economy, put in systems that saved Ghana almost GH6billion in the payment of road contractors and many other interventions that have lured to the benefit of the people of Ghana.
In my view , the number to me shouldn't be what we should be looking at, but rather the output of work that will translate into the wellbeing of the people of Ghana. If for example , we have 998 people working at the JUBILEE HOUSE and at the end of every month , the number of jobs they will work to create in the system is say 50,000, that certainly would be good, isn't it ? In a spate of a year , cet par, we would be having 600,000 jobs for the teeming youth .
If we have 998 people working at the JUBILEE HOUSE and they would work in a year , to get atleast atleast 216 ambulances for communities in Ghana, isn't it a good thing?
So, if I were the President of Ghana, as many people that I believe can work to realise my vsion for the country, I will employ and work with them even if it is above 998. After all, If it is the people of Ghana who are going to prosper, why not otherwise I wouldn't work with 998 or more .
I therefore ask : IF YOU WERE THE PRESIDENT OF GHANA , HOW MANY PEOPLE WOULD YOU WORK WITH AT THE JUBILEE HOUSE?