Former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, has said job creation under President John Dramani Mahama has been significantly slowed by debt distress and restrictions under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
Seth Tekper stressed that the National Democratic Congress administration inherited debt distress and restrictions under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
According to him, the NDC government has plans to create jobs, but Ghana’s prevailing economic conditions limited what could be achieved in the early months of the Mahama administration.
Speaking on Joy News, Seth Terkper stated, “If you look at the NDC manifesto, there’s a plan to create jobs already. But when you come into an economy where, under the IMF programme we inherited, compared to what we handed over, all you can do is borrow T-Bills.
“You’ve been shut out of your own domestic bond market, which we set up. You’ve been shut out of the external bond market because you’ve defaulted”.
He added, “Economists have something called counter-cyclical policies. It means that you know that the economy rises and falls — it’s good and bad”.
“If you don’t have sufficient food, and you import with the reserves, it affects the currency. If it’s not something you can predict for later, it’s something you should know could happen,” he said.
Also, Seth Terkper, the has said that an economy cannot be run for 2 to 4 years without a crisis.
According to Seth Terper, Ghana must strengthen its buffers to withstand external shocks.
The former finance minister highlighted that both domestic and external crises are a natural part of economic management.
Seth Terkper disclosed, “If you don’t have sufficient food, and you import with the reserves, it affects the currency. So these are, if not something you can predict to the letter, is something you should know could happen,” he said.
“So, unless you prepare against them, events happen, and things go in circles. Commodity prices, we don’t control them. They go up, and they go down. This will appear.”
He added, “And I’ve always said, in so many interviews, that you cannot run an economy for two to three years, the longest, four, without one crisis or the other. It may be domestic, it may be external…”
“Economists have something called counter cyclical policies, it means that you know that the economy rises and falls and it settles, it’s good and band, good and bad.”
Meanwhile, Nana Aba Anamoah, a renowned Ghanaian media personality, has called out the Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, over the scale of youth unemployment in this country.
The renowned Ghanaian media personality highlighted that Dr Rashid Pelpuo needs to make his DMs and office more accessible if he truly wants to understand the scale of youth unemployment in this country.
She detailed that the numbers being quoted about jobs created simply don’t match what people are living through every day.
Nana Aba Anamoah further questioned the Labour Minister, where exactly are these jobs he and heads of agencies under his ministry claim to have created?
In a post shared on X, Nana Aba Anamoah wrote, “The Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment (Dr Rashid Pelpuo) needs to make his DMs and office more accessible, if he truly wants to understand the scale of youth unemployment in this country.
The numbers being quoted about jobs created simply don’t match what people are living through every day. So where exactly are these jobs he and heads of agencies under his ministry claim to have created?
Why am I receiving countless messages from frustrated young people about their inability to land jobs despite doing everything right?
What is the plan for graduates who have been stuck in a cycle of applications?
And let’s be honest, when even your own foot soldiers are shutting down NHIA offices, it raises serious questions about this narrative of widespread job creation
Where are the jobs?
PS: There’ll always be that one guy who’ll ask What did NPP do for them?’
They’re out of power for a reason, so grow up”.