ALUTA CONTINUA!
Comments on the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy
By Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Minority Leader
The Finance Minister has delivered promises so grand that if promises were jobs, our youth would be applauding all the way to the bank.
Outside Parliament, however, Ghanaians, including the NDC's own foot soldiers, face one hell of a struggle! They struggle to make ends even pretend to meet.
The Government struggles to keep its promises. The people struggle to keep their heads above water. Yet the Government tells them they have never had it so good. Really? Good for whom?
Beyond the optics and statistics, families are struggling to find work, buy food and pay bills. Those in power must listen to the experiences of the people whose lives are affected by their economic decisions.
The cry out there today is a familiar one: Aluta continua!
For the people out there, the struggle is real. They see no end, and this Budget is saying to them: the struggle continues!
And I hear the Majority asking, "Which struggle?" Let us tell them.
THE NEW ECONOMY VERSUS THE PEOPLE'S POCKET ECONOMY
In 2025, the Mahama administration promised Ghanaians an economic reset. In 2026, the Finance Minister presented a Budget titled “Resetting for Growth, Jobs, and Economic Transformation.”
Today, the Government has introduced another economic agenda under the banner of a New Economy. The fundamental question remains what is genuinely new.
The country needs an economy in which businesses expand, productive investment increases, real incomes improve and young people find sustainable employment.
The struggle is to establish whether the so-called New Economy is anything more than a repackaging of the Government's previous economic promises.
The struggle is to revive job-generating programmes such as One District, One Factory and ensure that Ghana's industrialisation agenda produces functioning factories and sustainable employment.
The struggle is to rename the 24-Hour Economy the New Economy without first providing a comprehensive account of its implementation and employment outcomes.
The struggle is to convince Ghanaians that the so-called New Economy is something more than the Government's paper economy, as against the people's pocket economy!
The overarching test of the 2027 Budget is whether the Government can translate the so-called economic stability into productive investment, expanding businesses, higher real incomes and sustained jobs.
Ghana does not need another change in economic terminology. The country needs measurable economic results that improve the lives of ordinary citizens.
MACROECONOMIC STABILITY AND THE COST OF LIVING
The Government has repeatedly celebrated improvements in macroeconomic indicators, particularly inflation, exchange-rate stability and fiscal performance.
Stabilisation alone cannot constitute economic transformation. Businesses need customers, workers need improved purchasing power and young people need employment.
Aluta continua! The struggle that keeps the rate of inflation away from the actual cost of living. The struggle against unemployment, poverty and the rising cost of living!
The Government celebrates declining inflation, but lower inflation does not necessarily mean lower prices or improved living standards.
Families measure economic progress by what their incomes can buy, including electricity, bread, kenkey, healthcare, accommodation and transport.
The fact that inflation is declining does not erase the cumulative increases in the prices of essential goods and services that households have experienced over the years.
The real test is whether salaries and household incomes have increased sufficiently to restore purchasing power and enable families to meet their basic needs.
Weak purchasing power also affects businesses. When households have less disposable income, businesses experience weaker sales, reduced demand and limited opportunities to expand their operations.
Businesses that struggle to attract customers and maintain profitability cannot be expected to expand employment significantly, regardless of improvements in headline macroeconomic indicators.
The Government must demonstrate how its economic policies will strengthen domestic demand, improve real incomes and create an environment in which businesses can grow.
The struggle is to move from impressive economic statistics to an economy in which families can afford their bills, workers can live on their salaries and businesses can sustain their operations.
IMF ASSESSMENT, FISCAL POLICY AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
The IMF has acknowledged Ghana's stabilisation gains but has also raised concerns about the heavy reliance on expenditure compression to achieve fiscal adjustment.
Fiscal stability achieved through restrained expenditure cannot be celebrated without examining its consequences for public investment, economic activity and the delivery of essential development projects.
The IMF has supported reducing the primary surplus target from 1.5% of GDP in 2026 to 0.5% in 2027, creating additional fiscal space equivalent to approximately 1% of GDP.
This adjustment provides room for additional development spending. That additional space must translate into productive investments that stimulate economic activity, attract private capital and generate sustainable employment.
The Government cannot assume that a larger national budget will automatically deliver economic transformation. The quality of expenditure, implementation capacity and economic returns are equally important.
THE UNFULFILLED PROMISES OF THE 2026 BUDGET
In the 2026 Budget, the Finance Minister announced GH¢30 billion for strategic roads and bridges under the Big Push infrastructure programme.
Infrastructure projects announced in 2026 cannot simply be repackaged as fresh initiatives under the New Economy in 2027.
The 2026 Budget also promised agricultural transformation through Feed Ghana, Farm Banks, irrigation development and the revitalisation of Farmer Service Centres.
The Finance Minister announced GH¢690 million for Farmer Service Centres and GH¢828 million for agricultural roads, with the expectation that these interventions would improve agricultural production and market access.
On enterprise financing, the Finance Minister announced GH¢401 million for the Women's Development Bank and GH¢160 million for the Adwumawura programme in the 2026 Budget.
The Government also committed GH¢170 million to apprenticeship programmes and GH¢100 million to coding initiatives to equip young people with employable skills.
The 24-Hour Economy was introduced as a flagship programme to transform Ghana's productive capacity and create employment, with approximately 1.7 million jobs projected by 2028.
The 2026 Budget outlined initiatives expected to generate up to 800,000 jobs, including employment from road construction, garment manufacturing and agro-processing. Where are the jobs, Mr Finance Minister?
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS GROWTH AND PRIVATE INVESTMENT
According to the Ghana Statistical Service, unemployment among young people aged 15 to 24 averaged 32.4% during the first three quarters of 2025. This means approximately one in three economically active young people in that age group was unemployed.
Separately, the Ghana Statistical Service reported that 19.1% of young people aged 15 to 24 were neither employed nor in education or training during that period.
These figures demonstrate the seriousness of Ghana's youth employment challenge and the urgent need for economic policies that generate decent and sustainable jobs.
Aluta continua! The struggle of young graduates looking for work, apprentices seeking opportunities and businesses unable to expand their workforce continues.
Businesses require affordable credit, predictable taxation, reliable electricity and an operating environment that encourages investment and expansion.
Tax incentives and measures to reduce the cost of doing business are essential if the Government expects private enterprises to expand production and create sustainable employment.
Productive public expenditure must support private investment by improving infrastructure, reducing production costs and addressing the constraints that prevent businesses from expanding.
The struggle is to create an economy in which legitimate enterprise grows, businesses have customers, investors have confidence and young people can find work.
AGRICULTURE, INFRASTRUCTURE AND HEALTHCARE
The Government must account for the outstanding Agenda 111 projects and provide a credible programme for completing and operationalising the facilities.
The energy sector remains critical to industrialisation and private-sector development. Reliable and affordable electricity is essential for manufacturing, agricultural processing and business expansion.
The Government must demonstrate progress in addressing energy sector liabilities, improving operational efficiency and reducing the financial pressures that continue to affect the sector.
Cocoa remains an important contributor to Ghana's export earnings and rural livelihoods. The financial sustainability of COCOBOD, producer incomes, production levels and domestic processing must receive serious attention.
The Government's agricultural transformation agenda cannot be considered successful without corresponding improvements in farmers' productivity, market access and incomes.
EDUCATION AND THE FUTURE OF GHANA'S YOUTH
Aluta continua! The struggle against falling educational standards and poor examination results!
The Government's education policy must address concerns about academic performance, teaching and learning resources, infrastructure and the preparation of young people for employment.
Skills development programmes must lead to practical employment opportunities. Training young people without creating an economy capable of absorbing their skills will not resolve the unemployment challenge.
The struggle is to ensure that young people leave our educational institutions with the knowledge, skills and opportunities required to participate meaningfully in the economy.
CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE, CIVIL LIBERTIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Aluta continua! The struggle to speak without fear of unlawful arrest!
Economic development must go hand in hand with respect for constitutional rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law.
The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms, and the exercise of lawful political expression must not expose citizens to arbitrary arrest or intimidation.
Aluta continua! The struggle to defend our Constitution against those pushing for a third presidential term continues!
The struggle to ensure that public institutions remain accountable to the people and that political power is exercised within the limits established by the Constitution continues.
GALAMSEY, DRUG TRAFFICKING AND THE GOLD SECTOR
Aluta continua! The struggle against cocaine smuggling continues!
Just yesterday, Spanish authorities intercepted a shipment with 2.6 tonnes of cocaine originating from Ghana.
Aluta continua! The struggle against galamsey poisoning our rivers and destroying our land!
Illegal mining continues to threaten water resources, agricultural production, public health and environmental sustainability. Its consequences extend beyond the mining communities to the wider national economy.
Ghana cannot claim to be building a sustainable New Economy while illegal mining continues to threaten the natural resources upon which agriculture, industry and communities depend.
Aluta continua! The struggle to demand answers for the alleged US$1.7 billion in avoidable losses from GoldBod continues! We still stand by our demand for a bipartisan committee to investigate these losses.
CONCLUSION: THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
Behind these struggles are young people seeking work, families needing relief and citizens demanding dignity.
The Government has promised an economic reset, growth, jobs, transformation and now a New Economy. The Ghanaian people are entitled to judge these commitments by the results they produce. And the score, if you ask me, is a total failure! The Mahama administration has failed in governance.
The New Economy must be measured against the Government's record of implementation, the credibility of its financing arrangements and its capacity to improve the lives of ordinary Ghanaians.
We stand with the people. We speak for them. We will keep fighting for them.
Until promises become jobs, hospitals open and families feel relief in their pockets.
Until our rivers run clean and power answers to the people.
The struggle will continue!
For jobs! For cash! For justice! For dignity!
Aluta continua!
