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Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Enam Hadzide has attributed the rampant Okada business in the country to the Mahama led NDC government going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for policy credibility and the weak economy.

According to him, the IMF conditionality stopped the Mahama government from creating jobs and employing the youth which created a backlog of unemployed youth, making the youth to resort to other means of fending for themselves, hence the Okada business boom.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Pius Enam Hadzide indicated that the weak economy which was from 14 percent to 3.4 percent by the Mahama government made it impossible for both the private and the public sector to employ a lot of people.

He added that many of the youth found other alternatives to provide jobs for themselves and the use of Okada business became the order of the day for the youth who would have wished for their desired jobs.

“If you have a government that goes to IMF for policy credibility and for that matter cannot create jobs and employ the youth, you will get a backlog of youth unemployed and they would have to resort to other means of fending for themselves and the example is the Okada business,” he asserted.

“Again, if you meet an economy that has grown by 14 percent and the government in power sit idle, doing nothing with it and the economy shrinks to 3.4 percent as we saw in the era of former President Mahama, what it means is that because the economy is not growing, we cannot employ a lot of people and so the youths will find other alternatives to provide jobs for themselves," he narrated.

He, however, said that it is the Akufo-Addo government that has started bringing back the economy on its right track as it has been able to move the economy from 3.4 percent to over 7 percent.

He, therefore, reiterated that the economy has started growing again under President Akufo-Addo, giving more opportunities for businesses to thrive and provide means to employ a lot of people who for lack of jobs have resorted to the Okada business.

He added that under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, many of the youth will be able to get jobs after their hearts due to the fact that the economy is gaining momentum again.

“You have a government that is growing the economy from that shrink-stage to where it is now, as over 2 million people have been employed within the space of three (3) years according to Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS) 7 report”.

“This means that unemployment has reduced by at least 3.4 percent and our youth unemployment has reduced from over 16 percent to 11 percent. This also means that we are creating opportunities for the youth to get jobs of their choice,” he indicated.

He thus slammed former President John Mahama for coming up with a policy which does not protect the youth against higher-risk jobs; stressing that the Akufo-Addo government is providing soothing job in the transport sector other than the Okada business for the youth.

“The youths know which political party to vote for in order to make their dream jobs come through,” he pointed.