The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has pledged to invest $3 billion in the creation of additional digital jobs for the youth under its One Million Coders Programme if he is elected into office.
The former president said the move will provide job opportunities for youth in the digital space.
He disclosed this at a public lecture at the Christian Service University in Kumasi, organised by the Christian Service University as part of its 50th anniversary activities.
“The One Million Coders Programme will be aimed at creating additional digital jobs for our youth and we intend to spend $3 billion investments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT),”
Mr. Mahama underscored the need for sound and prudent economic management founded on broad and far-reaching governance and economic reforms would take root in Ghana under the new leadership of the NDC.
A new NDC government he assured will put in measures aimed at stabilizing the economy and helping the cedi to appreciate against other major currencies including the dollar.
“Our economic policy would be geared towards sustainable growth with an equitable distribution of the proceeds of growth amongst our citizens,” he said.
“The basic structure of our economy is reliant on raw material export with little or no value addition is no longer tenable.”
In his view, significant growth and wealth creation could not be realised translating into the government failing to provide for the people if the situation continued.
He said the next NDC government would work to restore the country’s traditional export sector back to its past glory, adding that, incentives for cocoa farmers to increase export and turn the sector around to take advantage of the improved world market prices would also be a priority for the NDC.
At the same event, he accused the Nana Addo-led administration of mismanaging the economy, a situation that has caused severe economic challenges.
“There’s widespread despair and anguish amongst our people leading to an active debate on social media about whether securing a foreign passport to do a menial job in Europe is better than holding a PhD in Ghana. It’s the adversity into which our nation has been plunged, otherwise, there’s no basis for comparison between a Visa and a PHD.”
To him, the Presidency should not be entrusted to individuals responsible for the current economic hardships in the country, asserting that the only way to sustain democracy in Ghana and Africa is through leadership that prioritises truth and honesty to the citizens.
“Those whose glaring failures at economic management have sucked us into this vortex of despair despite their lofty talk in opposition and who now seek to flee the responsibility cannot be rewarded with the presidency in this deep crisis.
“The presidency cannot be handed over to those who present as the future when they have the epicentre of our disastrous presence.”
“Leadership that is honest and accepts responsibility for challenges rather than passing the back is the kind of leadership that sustains democracy.”
Source: rainbowradioonline.com
