President John Dramani Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has highlighted the far-reaching economic ripple effects of the government’s flagship “Big Push” infrastructure initiative, stating that its benefits extend beyond construction sites to households and informal sector players, including spouses and “side chicks” of workers.
In a remark that drew both amusement and attention, at the Kwahu Business Forum 2026 in the Eastern Region, the President pointed to the secondary economic impact triggered when contractors receive payments.
According to him, such payments often translate into purchases of vehicles, thereby benefiting car dealers and related businesses.
He further stated that even the personal relationships of contractors play a role in spreading the economic benefits.
“When the contractors get paid, they go and buy a land cruiser for themselves. Car dealers also benefit, and even their spouses – the wives and the side chicks – also benefit. Because when they are paid and they get something, they give their wives and side chicks, you know, and that money circulates further,” he said.
He explained that once these funds reach households, they support other sectors of the economy, including hairdressers, dressmakers, jewellery sellers and handbag vendors.
“And that’s an important avenue, because you know where that one too goes. When the spouses and the side chicks too get, hairdressers get, dressmakers get, jewellery shops get, handbag sellers get,” President Mahama intimated.
President Mahama further noted with pride the increasing participation of young professionals, particularly women, in engineering roles on project sites.
According to him, many of the sites he has inspected are being managed by young Ghanaian engineers, including women who are taking up leadership roles in construction.
“I’ve been very pleased to see young engineers, especially young women, serving as site engineers. It makes me proud,” he said.
The President underscored how the large-scale infrastructure programme is not only creating jobs for engineers and artisans but also stimulating economic activity across multiple layers of society.
Beyond skilled labour, the President explained that the construction boom is generating opportunities for a wide range of informal sector workers.
Carpenters, steel benders and other artisans are actively engaged, while food vendors who sell local dishes such as waakye, banku and kenkey at construction sites are also earning daily incomes.
The President urged Ghanaians not to underestimate these indirect economic linkages, describing them as a vital component of how large-scale infrastructure investments stimulate inclusive growth.
The “Big Push” initiative is a key government policy aimed at accelerating infrastructure development.
By Ernest Kofi Adu