The Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, says the government’s Big Push Project is expected to create jobs for about 800,000 people across the country.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ AM Show on Monday, January 12, Dr Pelpuo said the large-scale infrastructure programme will open up employment opportunities at different skill levels and benefit communities nationwide.

“We also hope that the Big Push programme is going to create a lot of job opportunities. We are estimating about 800,000 people,” the Minister said.

Dr Pelpuo dismissed suggestions that the jobs to be created under the project would be insignificant or limited to low-skilled roles. He said that every job created under the programme would matter.

“The other time, somebody sat here and said these are going to be low-level jobs, as if they don’t matter. They are all important,” he said.

He explained that the project will require a wide range of professionals and workers, especially in the road construction sector.

“You are going to have engineers who are going to be used, their assistants, you are going to have supervisors, and you are going to have all kinds of people in the big road construction work we are going to do,” Dr Pelpuo said.

According to the minister, the Big Push Project will be nationwide in scope and larger than any infrastructure programme previously undertaken in Ghana.

“It’s going to cover the whole country, and it’s going to be what has never happened in this country before."

“Imagine the superhighway that is going to be between Accra and Kumasi alone. Imagine the roads connecting every region in this country and the extensive road network that is going to be built to enter everywhere,” he added.

He stated that the benefits of the Big Push Project would extend beyond direct employment, as increased construction activity would stimulate the broader economy.

“Everybody is going to benefit from the Big Push. It’s going to create a lot of job opportunities.”

He added that the programme will lead to increased supervision and activity at different levels of government and industry.

“You will have officers who are going to work, increased supervision at the local level and at the regional level, increased input by contractors, increased workers, and increased purchase of machinery. Everything is going to work,” he explained.

Dr Pelpuo said the scale of work planned for this year alone would make a significant impact on employment. “So this year is going to be huge in job creation,” he stated.

He said the overall goal of the Big Push Project is to strengthen the economy and improve Ghana’s infrastructure to support long-term development.

“The whole idea and aim is to improve the economy of this country. It’s to get the needed infrastructure to put it at the level where Ghana will be a true middle-income country.”