New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has outlined an ambitious plan to tackle poverty by spearheading what he describes as a “golden age of jobs” driven by Information Technology (IT). According to him, Ghana’s transformation hinges on a renewed sense of urgency toward ending poverty.
Speaking to party delegates and supporters, Dr. Adutwum argued that no political promise can be fulfilled without first addressing the nation’s economic hardship. “If you do not have the urgency to eradicate poverty, you cannot do any of your other promises,” he stated.
Highlighting Ghana’s current economic realities, he pointed to the minimum wage, 19.97 cedis per day, which he argued falls far below the World Bank’s poverty benchmark of three dollars per day. “If in a day one is not paid 33 cedis, the person is poor. Our minimum wage is below the poverty line. This is sad,” he lamented.
He described the situation as a paradox in which many Ghanaians remain poor despite being employed. “We have a lot of people working in this country, but they are poor, the working poor,” he noted.
Drawing inspiration from the United States, Dr. Adutwum said America’s declaration of a “war on poverty” helped trigger its economic transformation. He believes Ghana can replicate this success by aggressively creating technology-driven employment opportunities.
“When we talk about the war on poverty, we are talking about creating employment for our university and tertiary graduates by setting up IT hubs for processing, app development, software engineering, and data entry,” he explained. He cited India as a country that adopted this strategy and has become globally competitive in technology services.
Dr. Adutwum said his vision includes establishing cybersecurity opportunities to strengthen Ghana’s digital defence, noting that this sector alone could create thousands of jobs. “The defence of Ghana needs cybersecurity more. We have to find ways to protect our data from being accessed. This space could create lots of jobs for our graduates,” he said.
He added that such IT-driven initiatives would not only create local employment but also open pathways for skilled Ghanaians to work abroad. To achieve this, he emphasised the need for a comprehensive manpower needs assessment to guide job creation efforts.
“I will create the golden age of jobs. Anyone can do IT jobs,” he declared confidently.
Dr. Adutwum’s message centered on a single theme: building a modern economy anchored on technology, innovation, and skilled human capital to lift millions out of poverty.
