Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has provided data on the 2 million jobs that he said the government had created.
Earlier, while addressing congregants at this year’s Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at the Black Star Square in Accra last Saturday, he said, “In the past six years, despite the challenges of COVID-19 and the ongoing global economic crisis, I am glad to say that we created over two million jobs for the youth, excluding what we created under the Planting for Food and Jobs and the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), which were stop-gap measures.”
But the National Communications officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi rejected the claim and further described Dr Bawumia as a shameless liar following this pronouncement.
Sammy Gyamfi said unemployment had almost doubled from 8.4% in 2016 to 14% as of 2021.
“Official rate of unemployment has almost doubled from 8.4% in 2016 to 14% as of 2021, according to the GSS. Youth unemployment is at an all-time high,” he stated in a post on Facebook.
He continued: “Massive job losses have become the order of the day due to the economic mismanagement of the Bawumia-led EMT. Yet, our unrepentant liar of a VEEP claims his government has created 2.1 million jobs. What a joke! The name BAWUMIA will occupy a comfortable place in the Guinness book of lies.”
But in a tweet on Wednesday April 26, Dr Bawumia said “I recently stated that our government has created over 2 million jobs since 2017. As usual, the naysayers have questioned how we could have done so.
“Their mindset of impossibility prevents them from accepting that. Well, the data attached shows year by year, ministry by ministry, and agency by agency, the jobs that our government has created since 2017.
“This excludes jobs under planting for food and jobs and the National Identification Authority. Away with negative thinking! It is possible!”