His view comes at the back of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta’s 2022 Budget reading in Parliament, Wednesday, November 17.

Sharing his opinion on Adom TV’s Badwam Mpensempensemu, Mr Osafo-Maafo said the aim of the government is to build sustainable entrepreneurial nation and create jobs.

However, he said the government has not been able to fully achieve that mission.

‘’Any one that tells you that the problem of Ghana is not unemployment is lying to you,’’ the New Patriotic Party stalwart said.

He stated that thousands of people are graduating from school yearly, but there are no available jobs to sustain them.

For this, he urged the government to put measures in place to ensure the successful allocation of infrastructure to various institutions in the country as well as the implementation of policies of every budget presented to Parliament.

Reacting to the Finance Minister’s statement admonishing youth to adopt entrepreneurship rather than white collar jobs, Mr Osafo-Maafo said the former might not necessarily be the preferred option.

‘’It is not everybody that wants to create his own job but rather some people want to work for someone in society,’’ he said.

Based on this, he advised government to give attention to industrialisation transformation and generate employment or make working conditions conducive.

The Constituency Organiser, Kwadwo Owusu Adiomi, has alleged that the conduct of the former Finance Minister in the constituency towards the party’s parliamentary candidate, Ernest Yaw Kumi, following the defeat of the incumbent Member of Parliament, Mercy Adu Gyamfi, affected the party’s fortunes in the elections.

Mr Adiomi made the allegations on Monday, on Adom FM’s Burning Issues, a show hosted by Akua Boakyewaa Yiadom.

“I blame Hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo for the party’s misfortune and defeat in the area because he didn’t endorse the candidature of Ernest Yaw Kumi after her favorite, Ama Sey, was defeated during the parliamentary primaries,” he said.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s Henry Yiadom Boakye won the seat with 19,899 votes representing 51.5% while the NPP’s Ernest Kumi secured 18,742 votes representing 48.5% out of the total 38,646-total valid votes cast.

In the presidential election, Nana Akufo-Addo polled 21,758 while former President John Mahama garnered 16,181 votes.

The results for other 10 presidential candidates are as follow: GUM – 209, CPP – 15, GFP – 11, GCPP – 10, APC – 13, LPG – 8, PNC – 2, PPP – 7, NDP – 10 and the only independent candidate had 13 votes.

But, the NPP’s organiser believes that the ‘skirt and blouse’ voting pattern adopted by the electorates in the area is as a result of some alleged machination adopted by the Senior Minister, the incumbent MP and some party faithfuls against Ernest Kumi.

Already, the Akwatia constituency executives of the NPP served notice of their intention to sack MP, Mercy Adu Gyamfi from the party effective January 7, 2020, over alleged underground dealings against the party.

The party also hinted at plans to suspend some executives who they alleged aided Ama Sey to campaign skirt and blouse votes against NPP’s Ernest Yaw Kumi leading to his defeat in the just ended parliamentary election.

However, a group by name Friends of Ama Sey has debunked claims that the incumbent MP engaged in ‘skirt and blouse’ campaign against Ernest Yaw Kumi.

Taking to Facebook to register his assertion, A Plus said:

Senior Minister Osafo-Maafo tests positive for COVID-19. This one diɛ I wish him a speedy recovery. Get well soon Sir ??.

MORE:

• A Plus pens emotional letter to Akufo-Addo

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• A Plus kisses wife to dispel breakup rumours [Video]

He continued by querying why none of the officials of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) hasn’t contracted the deadly virus so far:

But wait ooo. How come we have not heard that any NDC top official has tested positive? Anaa they are corona proof ????

Checkout his post below:

The Committee had been given a deadline of September 2018 to present to Parliament, a roadmap for the achievement of the vision that seeks to harness and prudently manage the country’s vast natural resource to finance Ghana’s development agenda without recourse to foreign assistance.

The document is expected, after approval by the legislature, to become the policy document to guide the actions of government as well as those of the various stakeholders in the country.

READ: Pastor remanded for defiling minor

The Committee, chaired by Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo, includes Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Labour and Employment Minister Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Planning Minister Prof. Djan Baffour and the Local Government Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama.

Others are Dr Anthony Yaw Baah and Mrs Philomena Sampson, both of the Trades Union Congress, Mr David Ofori Acheampong of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, and Messrs Kwaku Agyeman-Duah and Nana Osei Bonsu of the Private Enterprise Federation.

The rest are Dr Yaw Adu Gyamfi of the Association of Ghana Industries, Dr Eric Yeboah of the office of the Senior Minister and Dr Yaw Ansu, a senior policy adviser at the Finance Ministry.

At a short ceremony at the Jubilee House in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said it could not be right that 60 years after Ghana’s independence, the country was still dependent on external assistance with its extraordinary natural and human resources.

He said that the country had been dependent on aid largely because “we have not been able to develop our economy to the extent that allows us to do things for ourselves,” adding, “by now, we should be in position to fund activities for reasons that is obvious, then, we will have control over our own destiny.”

Among the plaintiffs are the Senior Minister in the Nana Akufo-Addo administration, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, the acting New Patriotic Party (NPP) Chairman, Freddie Blay and Kwamena Bartels.

The initial lump sum was said to be GHc 13,735 per plaintiff, but interest accrued on the amount from January 2009 to February 2016 raises the amount to GHc 233,495.

That would mean government would have to give out almost GHc 10 million to settle the former MPs.

The plaintiff’s claim is anchored on one of the recommendations by the Chinery-Hesse Committee Report, which says that persons who exited Parliament, having served two full term periods and are above 50 years, should be paid some sums of money as pension benefits.

Among the other reliefs, the disgruntled former MPs are also praying the court refund their legal bills.

The former MPs have since 2011 been negotiating with government regarding the pensions, but the attempts to have their demands met have proved futile.

They noted in their writ that, in a letter dated June 25, 2015, the Attorney General directed the Ministry of Finance to make the payments, but the Minister of Finance at the time refused, neglected or failed to make the payments as directed.

The former MPs said the conduct of the Finance Minister caused them much distress and suffering, as most of them are unemployed and unable to sustain their families as their advanced age made it difficult to find employment.
Find below the list of former MPs

1 David Apasera

2 Dr. Charles Brempong-Yeboah

3 Francis Aggrey Agbotese

4 Nii Adu Daku Mante

5 Kwame Adusa Okerchiri

6 Godfred Otchere

7 Moses Dani Baah

8 K. Brandford Adu

9 Victor Okuley Nortey

10 Yaw Barimah

11 Kwadwo Darko Adjei

12 Samuel Gyamfi Adu

13 Joseph Tsatsu Agbenu

14 Eugene Atta Agyapong

15 Abraham Osei Aidoo

16 Dr. Kwame Ampofo

17 Dr. Matthew Kwaku Antwi

18 Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku

19 Yaw Mensah Asiedu

20 Angela Baiden-Amissah

21 Kwamena Bartels

22 Freddie W.A. Blay

23 Sampson Boafo

24 Chrisitne Churcher

25 Kenneth Dzirasah

26 Isaac E. Edumadze

27 Nkrabea Effah Dartey

28 Kwame Owusu Frimpong

29 Kitson Akomeng Kissi

30 Joseph Henry Mensah

31 Mrs Anna Nyamakye

32 Albert Kwaku Obbin

33 Yaw Osafo-Maafo

34 Francis Mensah Osafo

35 Akwasi Adjei Osei

36 K. Owusu Adjapong

37 K. Opoku Adusei

38 Quarm Sam

39 Alex Sofo Seidu

40 Alhassa Malik Yakubu

Source: Citi FM