NPP had a more credible jobs plan than the NDC’s 1-3-3, Salam Mustapha says

Salam Mustapha says the New Patriotic Party’s jobs plan deserved more time and was more credible than the National Democratic Congress’s “1-3-3” employment promises. The NPP’s aspiring National Organiser made the argument while discussing the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election and the unemployment concerns weighing on young people.

Mustapha said the NPP had several programmes in the pipeline that could have created jobs if the party had remained in government long enough to implement them. He pointed to Agenda 111, the hospital construction project, arguing that its completion would have required about 70,000 health workers.

But he also acknowledged the impatience of unemployed young people. Those struggling to find work, he said, could not simply wait two or three years for sustainable employment to emerge. He attributed the difficulty of creating jobs quickly in part to pressure on government finances, noting that roughly 60 to 70 percent of national revenue goes toward public-sector wages.

Reflecting on the NPP’s defeat, Mustapha compared the party’s pre-election position to the Titanic. He said he had warned about the challenges ahead, but argued that the leadership did not ignore his concerns. Instead, he said, it lacked the capacity to respond quickly enough.

Mustapha criticised the NDC government’s youth employment initiatives, claiming that a promise to create 100,000 jobs had produced fewer than 10,000 so far. He also questioned the progress of the “One Million Coders” programme and the pledge to provide automatic employment for nurses. He said NDC entrepreneurship schemes resembled programmes launched under the NPP, including the “Adwumawura” initiative associated with former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration.

Despite the NPP’s poor showing among young voters, Mustapha said some of those who voted against the party may have changed their minds. He cited social media discussions as evidence of dissatisfaction with the NDC and said the NPP could rebuild support by addressing youth concerns and presenting workable solutions to unemployment.