If given the chance to lead the nation once more, National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer John Dramani Mahama has promised to address the high unemployment rate in the nation.
On Wednesday, February 3, 2023, during his 2024 New Year’s speech, Mr. Mahama made this promise.
He claims that he and his group have created a plan that aims to give young people jobs.
“One of my key priorities will be to address the high level of unemployment and meet the aspirations of our youth. My team and I under the auspices of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have developed a comprehensive plan, which will be shared with businesses, academia, civil society and the youth to create jobs and provide opportunities for all our young people. We will empower our youth to contribute meaningfully to their well-being, families, the Ghanaian economy and society through targeted investment in education and skills development. While providing jobs for the youth, we also encourage business ownership and entrepreneurship amongst them,” he said.
He also mentioned that in order to encourage businesses in 2025, his government will be introducing a special budget and modifying taxes.
“In April 2025, the new NDC government shall introduce a new budget to support and build small businesses and adjust taxes as an incentive for job creation.”
I am committed to bridging high rate of unemployment in Ghana – John Mahama #UTVNews pic.twitter.com/mR1rhYcpSS
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) January 5, 2024
Relatedly, Mahama said that 2023 had been nothing more than a continuation of years of suffering and economic difficulties for Ghanaians in his 2024 New Year’s message from his Tamale home.
Mr. Mahama went on to say that although many people had thought that the 2024 budget would at least provide some relief, what Ghanaians actually received from the government was a bevy of new taxes.
“The 2024 budget provides no hope for an improvement in our circumstances. A raft of new tax measures have been slapped on us to raise an additional GH¢11 billion from the already overburdened taxpayers. In that same budget, while they sort to squeeze the last blood from Ghanaians through increased taxes, they have increased the money allocated to the Office of the President from GH¢1.4 billion to over GH¢2 billion.”
