Joseph Amoah addressing the media
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Shama in the Western Region, Joseph Amoah, has given an assurance that the District Assembly is putting pragmatic measures in place to ensure that qualified youth in the area are employed at the Aboadze Power enclave.
He has, therefore, refuted allegations by some youth activists of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) at Aboadze and Abuesi that he was doing nothing to ensure that the qualified youth in the area are employed at the Aboadze Thermal Plant near Takoradi.
It would be recalled that a section of NPP youth in the Aboadze and Abuesi recently issued a press statement accusing the DCE of neglecting them with reference to their inability to get employment at an ongoing project at the Aboadze Thermal Plant by Amandi Energy.
The youth then went ahead to call on the president to remove the DCE from office if the ruling party wanted to retain the Shama constituency seat in the next general elections.
However, reacting to the allegations, the DCE called on the people to remain calm and assured them that the current government would do everything possible to bring to them the development they had been deprived of during the eight-year rule of the previous NDC government.
He called on the NPP activists in the area not to allow a few disgruntled persons who were in league with the NDC to frustrate the efforts of government by creating instability and chaos which would inure to their selfish advantage.
The Shama DCE revealed that the employment issues between the youth and Amandi Company existed before he assumed office.
He mentioned that in view of the strategic nature of the project to the state, he organized a stakeholders’ meeting with the youth leadership, management of Amandi and their sub-contractors.
Also present at the meeting were the chiefs and assembly members of the adjoining communities including Abuesi, Aboadze, Lower Inchaban, Upper Inchaban and Dwomo.
At the meeting, the DCE disclosed that the management of Amandi claimed they had employed quite a lot of youth from the district, with majority coming from Aboadze.
Mr. Amoah added that according to a data submitted by the company as of August 28, 2018, Amandi and its sub-contractors had employed 1,509 Ghanaians out of which 502 are from Aboadze and surrounding communities.
The youth were therefore advised to use appropriate channels to address their concerns rather than resorting to confrontations since the power plants are strategic national assets.
The DCE added that after continuous agitations by the Aboadze youth including the occasional invasion of the premises of the site by the youth the MP for the area, Ato Panford, organized another stakeholders’ meeting at the Assembly with the Western Regional Minister, Dr Kwaku Afriyie as chairman.
He revealed: “At the meeting, the regional minister condemned the stance of the Aboadze youth who are demanding 40 per cent employment at Amandi Energy and cautioned that no one has sole entitlement to employment in the company, since the 1992 Constitution is against discrimination. . .”
The DCE stated that as part of measures to ensure that the youth in the district has a bigger employment quota with Amandi Company, it was agreed by the assembly members that an internal arrangement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should be signed.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Shama