The Minority Caucus in Parliament is demanding a detailed breakdown of the over three million jobs the government claimed it had created under the Akufo-Addo administration in its first term in office.
Their demands follow a disclosure made by the Minister-designate for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah that the government as of September 2020 had created a total of three million jobs for Ghanaians.
Mr Baffour-Awuah, who was responding to a question during his vetting, indicated that the jobs created were in both the public and private sectors of the economy.
“On the number of jobs, yes it is true on 1st May 2018 I indicated that the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had created approximately one million jobs, even though I don’t have the exact figures for the end of 2020, the last time we reported on was in September 2020, and the figure was around three million jobs,” Mr Baffour-Awuah told the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
But in a sharp rebuttal, the Minority Caucus Leader, who doubles as the ranking Member on the Appointments Committee, Haruna Iddrisu, demanded a breakdown of the said jobs created by the Akufo-Addo government.
“Minister-nominee can you state how the three million jobs were created and the distribution, you want to share the statistics with us, sector by sector?” Mr Iddrisu quizzed.
In response, the minister-designate said: “Hon. Chair, I will make the details available to the committee when I get back, I have on a number of occasions even come to this House and have given these figures out already but if it is at the pleasure of the committee to have the details, I am more than willing to do so.”
Mr Iddrisu then asked, “and Chairman another clarification, this three million jobs, public sector or public sector or a combination of the two?” Mr Baffour-Awuah responded “combination of all”.
Samson Ahi demanded clarity on the jobs created by the Akufo-Addo government after he alleged that Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on August 13, 2020, said that government had created two million jobs contrary to the three million jobs stated by the Minister-designate for Employment and Labour Relations.
Mr Baffour-Awuah stated that he was unaware of the said figures by the Vice President as claimed by Mr Ahi.
“I don’t know and I am not aware of what you’re talking of but I have officially turned out the three million jobs and I will be prepared to defend the three million at any point in time that I get the opportunity,” he stressed.
Mr Iddrisu subsequently demanded that the minister-designate for Employment and Labour Relations furnishes the House with details of the jobs created within the public and private sectors during the president’s first term in office.