The Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Raphael Patrick Sarfo, has criticized the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Augustus Nana Kwesi Andrews, following a public complaint reportedly speaking about pressure from grassroots youth demanding jobs.
Mr. Sarfo, in a statement, indicated that the Chairman’s lamentation is a direct consequence of the NDC’s failed promises, especially the much-touted 1:3:3 jobs model the party promoted during the 2024 campaign. “And now, in this month of December, a season of hope, joy, and celebration, your failure has left thousands of young people in Ashanti with empty pockets, empty kitchens, and empty Christmas plans.” part of the statement read.
He explained that since the NDC promised immediate employment opportunities under the 1 job, 3 shifts and 3 workers model, not a single factory, job scheme or youth opportunity has materialised.
Reacting to the NDC Chairman’s comment that he is under pressure from the youth, Mr. Sarfo said the pressure is self-inflicted because the Chairman used job assurances and promises of appointments to mobilise young people during the elections. He argued that these same young people are now demanding the opportunities they were made to believe would come instantly when the NDC returned to power.
He criticised what he termed “crocodile tears” from the NDC Chairman, saying Ashanti youth do not want sympathy but results. He asked the NDC government to explain the whereabouts of the 1:3:3 jobs initiative, the promised immediate jobs, the expected factories and the investments said to be heading to the region.
Touting the Ashanti Region as Ghana’s ‘industrial and commercial hub’ , the youth organizer believes the said region deserves better leadership and honesty.
He also urged the government to focus on delivering jobs and development rather than complaining publicly, adding that the party must work to ensure young people can celebrate Christmas with dignity. “The Ashanti Region is the industrial, commercial and electoral powerhouse of Ghana. And yet today, because of NDC incompetence, our youth cannot even prepare to celebrate Christmas with dignity. If the NDC government cannot deliver jobs, they should boldly admit that the 1:3:3 policy was a political gimmick, not a workable national plan.”
