Mussa Dankwah, the Global InfoAnalytics Executive Director, has disclosed that Ghana’s economy is no longer the number one issue for voters.
According to Mussa Dankwah, Jobs have replace economy as voters’ top concern when he speaks to voters.
He noted that before the 2024 election, the three things that bothered voters were the economy, jobs, and education, adding that voters’ priorities have shifted.
Mussa Dankwah further stressed that he expects the NDC government to create jobs.
Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show on January 6, Mussa Dankwah disclosed, “I expect them to create jobs; if you speak to voters today, the economy is no longer a threat to them. The economy is no longer the number one issue for them. It suggests that they are okay with the economy.”
“The issue is job creation. If you look at the last election, before the election, the three top issues that bothered voters were the economy, jobs, and education.”
He added, “On points one and three, which were the top three issues, they are having success in doing that. But the problem they have is job creation, which is the biggest threat. We’ve been told that it’s a national security threat for many years. It still remains. A chunk of the youth have no job.”
“Whatever the government needs to take to create jobs, the environment that will create jobs, they have to. There’s no excuse for them. The people will be disappointed, but in the second year, if nothing happens, I can tell them for a fact.”
Mussa Dankwah added, “So if they have any focus that they have to pay attention to, that should be job creation. And as to how they do it, I’ve been hearing them talking about mechanised agriculture and stuff. I don’t care what it means to get the jobs. The jobs must be there.”
They can’t resolve unemployment, no. They must be seen to have made substantial improvement or gains in reducing the rate of unemployment. If they don’t, that will be the biggest hurdle they have to confront next election.”
Meanwhile, the Ghana Statistical Service has revealed that jobs are increasing, but the unemployment rate in Ghana is not falling.
Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, the Government Statistician, noted that despite the strong employment numbers, job quality remains a major challenge.
The Government Statistician revealed that more than two-thirds of employed persons were in vulnerable employment, especially women, rural workers and persons in Agriculture.
He detailed that youth unemployment among persons aged 15 to 24 consistently exceeded the national average, with the highest rates (32.4%).
Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, on Thursday, December 18, stated, “The key message here is that jobs are increasing, but the unemployment rate is not falling in a sustained way. New job creation is still not fast enough to absorb new entrants, especially young people and urban job seekers.
“Youth unemployment consistently exceeded the national average, with the highest rates (32.4%) recorded among persons aged 15 to 24. In addition, about 21.5 per cent of young people aged 15–24 were not in employment, education, or training (NEET)”.
“This represents a significant loss of productive potential and underscores the urgency of targeted youth employment and skills interventions. Urban unemployment remained higher than rural unemployment, and females continued to experience higher unemployment rates than males,” he said.