The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has pushed back against claims that it promised to create jobs under a “1-3-3” arrangement during the 2024 election campaign.
Tamale Central Member of Parliament and member of Parliament’s Works and Housing and Finance Committees, Prof Seidu Mahama Alidu, said the phrase was never presented as a standalone employment pledge.
According to him, “1-3-3” was used by the NDC as an illustrative expression to explain how its proposed 24-hour economy policy would function.
Prof Alidu made the clarification during an appearance on the GTV Breakfast Show on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, in response to questions about the government’s implementation of the 24-hour economy.
The issue was raised by former Suame Municipal Chief Executive, Maxwell Ofosu Boakye, who challenged the government to account for what he described as the NDC’s “1-3-3 jobs” promise.
Ofosu Boakye argued that the concept formed part of the NDC’s 2024 manifesto and campaign messaging on the 24-hour economy, under which jobs could be organised into three shifts and assigned to three different workers.
“Let us not trivialise the argument. You promised giving Ghanaians a 1-3-3 job,” he said.
Prof Alidu, however, rejected the description and demanded to know where the alleged promise had been formally captured as a policy commitment.
“In which policy report? No, no, I won’t let you go with this. It was a statement that was made in an explanation,” he responded.
The Tamale Central MP maintained that the “1-3-3” phrase was simply intended to make the proposed 24-hour economy easier for voters to understand and should not be interpreted as a separate promise to create jobs in that specific format.
The exchange has renewed discussion about the NDC’s campaign messaging on the 24-hour economy and what the government specifically committed to delivering under the policy.
