During his first statewide campaign tour, Ghanaians have asked Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), several pointed questions.
In Tamale, Northern Region, during a meeting with religious leaders, a female pastor questioned the vice president over the number of jobs the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration has produced since taking office.
The flagbearer of the NPP had claimed during the occasion that since taking office in 2017, the government has produced 2.1 million jobs—the most of any government in the 4th Republic.
“We have created 2.1 million jobs and we can account for every single one of them. 2.1 million jobs in the last 7 years, that is more than any government in the 4th Republic of this country.”
The female pastor of the Assemblies of God Church in Tamale, Ramatu Abdullahi Helina, was unimpressed by the vice president’s statements and asked him if the jobs he was referring to were real jobs.
She inquired about the government’s response to the numerous Ghanaians who lost their jobs when banks were closed during the 2019 banking sector clean-up.
“My question is on the creation of jobs. I heard that you have created 2.1 million jobs and I was concerned about those who lost their jobs some years ago. Many banks were closed and those who were working at these banks were displaced. Also, many NGOs were closed down and people lost their jobs.
“So, these new jobs that have been created, if they are real, have those who lost their jobs benefited from them? Are you able to trace those people because they lost their livelihood?” she asked the vice president.
She added, “Another area is the business; our monies were locked up in Gold Coast Security, where most of us keep our provident fund.So when we are retiring as pastors, we will withdraw to cushion us during retirement. How are you going to help us with this, please?”
The NPP flagbearer, in his response, said that the jobs created by the government are real and the data from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) attests to them.
He said that over 1.2 million of these jobs were created in the public sector and about 975,000 in the private sector.
“The first question came on jobs, the fact that we have created 2.1 million jobs so far. These are broken down into 1.2 million jobs for the public sector and 975,000 jobs for the private sector, all the way to 2023. And this is SSNIT data, so it is very clear if you look at the numbers: teachers, about 100,000; nurses, 100,000 and so on. So, it is very clear that all of these jobs are itemised and real.”
On the shutting down of the banks during the banking sector clean-up, Dr. Bawumia said that the closure of the affected banks was necessary to save the country’s financial system from collapsing.
It can be recalled that Dr. Bawumia was confronted by a female final-year nursing student who said she had never received the government allowance (allawa) meant for students during a campaign event in the Bono Region.
“The question I want to ask is, when are we getting our ‘allowance’? Since I started school, I have not received my allowance to date, and I’m in my last semester. Some of us are not even able to pay our school fees.
“Those who are not able to pay their fees would be sacked; they wouldn’t be allowed to write the exams. If the ‘allowance’ had been given to us, they would have been able to pay their fees. So, my question is, when are we getting the allawa?” she asked.
The NPP flagbearer, in his response, promised to take up the issue with the Ministry of Finance.
“I wasn’t sure of where you were with your ‘allowance’, but I think that I will check with the Ministry of Finance immediately after I return. And I will make sure they pay you your ‘allawa’ if it has not been paid,” Bawumia assured.
