Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Ken Ofori-Atta
The Communication Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Savannah Region, Maleek Basintale, has chided the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Ken Ofori-Atta, over his recent comment on the government payroll.
Ofori Atta has come under fire for urging Ghanaian youth not to over-rely on the government for jobs to prevent the payroll from being overburdened.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on Friday, October 15, the minister indicated that 60 percent of Ghana’s revenue is spent on salaries and remuneration for workers on the government’s payroll, and went on to encourage youngsters to venture into entrepreneurship.
“That payroll is full because we are spending some 60 percent of our revenue on remunerating some 650,000 people and that is not sustainable.
“The question then really is,” he continued, “has UPSA trained you to be entrepreneurs, and your question will be where the financing is coming from. But you do, in you, have the skills set to be able to do what you have to do.”
Ofori-Atta has been explaining the steps the government is employing to get Ghanaian young entrepreneurs to flourish without difficulties.
But Maleek Basintale, a member of the largest opposition party, believes the NPP government is taking the Ghanaian electorate for granted since they keep shifting the goalpost whenever it is time for accountability.
Speaking on New Day on TV3, Basintalele suggested that the children of the Finance Minister ought to venture into petty trading to inspire more Ghanaians rather than leaving them in the government sector.
He said the Government has failed woefully in the area of creating and sustaining jobs for the mass unemployed youth in the country.
Basintale argued that President Akufo-Addo and his Government promised Ghanaians of creating thousands of employment opportunities for the youth, adding that they should fulfil the promise first.