Unemployment rate under Akufo-Addo is unprecedented – Suhuyini

Tamale North Member of Parliament Alhassan Suhuyini has said that Ghanaians are saddled with an unprecedented unemployment rate under the Akufo-Addo administration.

This, he said, is the true state of affairs in the country that the President is failing to accept.

Previously, Suhuyini said, the unemployment rate was hovering in a single digit. At the moment, it has crossed a double-digit rate, he added.

Contributing to a discussion on the ‘True state of the nation address delivered by the National Chair of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia on Monday, March 20, Suhuyini said on the Big Issue on TV3 Tuesday, March 21 that “The reality is that unemployment is unprecedented, it is all over, it is all around us. The statistical service recently has also confirmed it, that it used to be in the single digit but today we are talking about unemployment in the double digits.”

Mr Asiedu Nketia in his address accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of not appreciating the hardships Ghanaians are saddled with at the moment.

He indicated that at the moment, Ghanaian youth are faced with joblessness, high cost of food items, corruption among government officials and other problems.

Delivering an address to respond to the state of the nation address delivered by the President Last week, Asiedu Nketia said at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) auditorium on Monday, March 20 that “it is important to awaken the government…many are in fear of where to find their next meal.”

“The reality is that babies do not have vaccines, the youth do not have jobs, … this is not the Ghana we deserve,” he added.

He said also that a promise Ghanans have come to realize that the claim of the president that they knew how to resolve the economic challenges was a scam.

Mr Asiedu Nketia further indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic brought into the pocket of the government an amount of GHS30 billion.

However, Mr Asiedu Nketia accused the government of wasting the funds on election-related spending.

Delivering an address at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) auditorium on Monday, March 20, “Covid-19 brought the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government a windfall of about GHS30bn to manage and mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Unfortunately, this was wasted in election-related expenses.”

He stressed that Covid-19 became a “Corruption bonanza and a milking cow.”

He further accused the government of not being truthful to Ghanaians.

He said the President assured him that there was not going to be haircuts on investment but Ghanaians are witnessing it.

Also, he said, the government constantly told the people that they would not go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support but they are now seeking a deal with Fund.