John Dramani Mahama has said the Ghanaian youth want jobs to better their lives and not a mobile phone they will purchase on credit and be paying on installment basis.
If the youth have jobs, Mahama says they will be able to purchase their own phones rather than acquiring some on credit and be paying in bits.
His statement comes on the back of a comment made by the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who is also the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, saying his administration will build a credit score system where people can leverage to purchase things on credit and pay gradually.
According to him, such a move would enhance access to information and communication technology, bridging the digital divide and empowering more Ghanaians to participate in the digital economy.
Speaking at a campaign event in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba constituency, Dr. Bawumia outlined a plan to collaborate with phone manufacturers to provide smartphones on a credit basis, enabling citizens to pay as little as one or two cedis per month.
“We will make mobile phones accessible, my government will partner with phone manufacturers so that Ghanaians can afford them on credit and pay 1 or 2 cedis every month,” Dr Bawumia said.
He emphasized that the initiative is part of a broader strategy to improve the technological landscape and foster economic growth.
But in his reaction, the former President and flag bearer of the NDC says it is jobs that the young ones need and not phones.
Speaking to party supporters in the Upper East Region as part of his campaign tour, he stated that “what young people want is jobs. Young people, our youth have not said, come and give them telephones.”
“You give them jobs. If you give them jobs, they’ll buy their own telephones. If I have my own job and I’m earning an income, I don’t need a one cedi, two cedis phone. I can buy my own phone. And so what you need is jobs. And that is what NDC is coming to do,” he added.
