Today in History: Government's 1.1 million jobs claim untrue - Sammy Gyamfi

The Vice President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, claimed during his Eid-ul-Fitr address that the government has created over 2 million jobs for the youth in the past six years despite the outbreak of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war.

This was backed by data he published days later as a proof to his claim.

The opposition, led by the Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, provided evidence to counter the claims by the Vice President.

Today, five years ago on May 8, 2018, Sammy Gyamfi countered the same government when it claimed that it had created 1.1 million jobs.

Read the full original story as published by GhanaWeb on Friday, May 8, 2022, below: :

The leading member of the National Communications team (now Communications Officer) of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, described the 1.1 million jobs the government claims to have created as a 'product of baseless and laughable assumptions'.

Speaking on Asempa FM's late afternoon political talk show 'Ekosi Sen' on Friday May 4 2018, he rubbished the government's 1.1 million jobs claim and described it as ridiculous and an insult to the intelligence of all Ghanaians.

He stated that the claim was another blatant lie by the ruling NPP government meant to hoodwink Ghanaians and to conceal the true state of affairs in the country.

Commenting on the matter, he lamented, "This deceptive claim by the government is insulting to all Ghanaians. What is even more insulting is the so-called breakdown they have put out there. I don't know whether the 1.1 million jobs they claim they have created are in Pluto, Mars or Antarctica but I want our listeners to know that it is nothing but a blatant lie. The jobs just don't exist. What does this government take us for? Do they think that we are some zombies who take whatever they tell us on face value?"

Addressing the specific components of the breakdown of the 1.1 million jobs put out by the government, he argued that it was ridiculous for the government to assume that each of the 7000 people being trained under the NEIP program will successfully set up businesses and actually employ an average of three (3) people each.

He said there was no reasonable basis for that assumption since none of the so called 7000 trainees has received a dime from the program as start-up capital yet.

He further rubbished the government's claim of having created 745,000 jobs under the planting for food program and referred to Hon. Kennedy Agyapong NPP MP for Assin Central, the leadership of GAWU and the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana who have all described the claim as false.

He argued that it was baseless for the government to assume that it has created 745,000 jobs just because it has merely distributed subsidized fertilizers to farmers under the planting for food and jobs program.

"These farmers were already farmers before the inception of this government and its planting for food and jobs program and most of the laborers they have employed on their farms were already laborers even before the inception of this program and so why must the government describe that as additional jobs", he asked.

He further argued that what this government has been doing under the School Feeding Program, NHIS, NADMO etc, was "sack and replace" and not the creation of additional jobs.

He recounted many instances where workers perceived to be members of the opposition NDC have been sacked from their workplace for no justifiable cause and replaced with NPP loyalists. He asked why all such jobs should be counted as part of the new additional jobs the government claims to have created.

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