Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama has raised concerns about the alarming unemployment rate in Ghana, advising the next government, as a matter of urgency, to prioritize policies aimed at creating sustainable job opportunities.

He mentioned that the jobs should not be temporal like it is normally done.

Mahama said, "The next government must focus on putting in policies that will create jobs. This should not be artificial jobs like we normally do."

He made this statement in reaction to a question asked about the future of the youth during a meeting with Church Leaders in Tema East, as part of his Building Ghana Tour in Greater Accra on March 12, 2024.

Expressing skepticism towards the success of past job creation initiatives, Mahama criticized the prevalence of short-term, artificial job schemes like NABCO which, according to him, was aimed at scoring political points.

"You know that you don't have any sustainable place to put them after the three years, yet it is done to win political points, oh we have given 100,000 jobs. They finish the NABCO, you owe them 9 months’ areas and the government is refusing to pay,” he stated.

He stressed the need for a shift towards sustainable job creation avenues, citing sectors such as agriculture, value chain, agribusiness, and the minerals sector as potential sources of long-term employment.

Highlighting the need for a change in mining laws, Mahama proposed an Indigenous Mining Act to prioritize local participation and ensure equitable distribution of profits rather than giving the opportunity to expatriates who come to mine and take the profit away.

He added that the generation of more profit can help the country to invest in industries, thereby creating additional job opportunities and production of goods which will not only bolster economic growth but also bring self-sufficiency.

He mentioned that in 2016 unemployment rate was 8.5 percent but has shot up to 14.7 percent.


RAD/ ADG

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