2026 Budget: Gov't Targets To Create 800,000 Jobs, Shares Area That Will Create Most Opportunities
- The government announced that it plans to create up to 800,000 new jobs as part of key polices
- Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson shared that the Big Push Initiative will be key to this projection
- Alfred Appiah, a data scientist, welcomed the projection and called for a transparent assessment of outcomes
The 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy has been designed to create up to 800,000 new jobs across various sectors of the economy, according to Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson.
Forson explained that the government’s flagship infrastructure and industrial initiatives will serve as key drivers of employment creation.
Source: Facebook
During the 2026 budget presentation, in which the minister remained bullish about the economy, he disclosed that the GH¢63 billion worth of road contracts awarded so far under the Big Push initiative is expected to generate an estimated 490,000 jobs.
The government also expects three new garment factories to be established under the government’s industrialisation agenda to create over 20,000 direct jobs.
Seven new agro-processing plants are expected to employ about 700 people directly and thousands more indirectly through their supply chains.
The National Policy on Integrated Oil Palm Development, which spans 2026 to 2032, will generate about 250,000 jobs across the oil palm value chain. Additionally, the ongoing establishment of Farmer Service Centres across the country will employ thousands of people in machinery operation, maintenance, logistics, and other support services.
“These investments are not isolated; they are part of an integrated national effort to turn stability into jobs and growth."
Call for transparent assessment of jobs created
Commenting on the jobs projection, Alfred Appiah, a data scientist, expressed hope that there would be rigorous assesment of the job creation outcomes.
"We only hope that when the time comes to measure job creation, the government won’t throw around some spreadsheet but will actually rely on trusted, existing instruments for measuring labour market performance.
We wouldn’t want to spend a year repeatedly fact-checking the same claims."
Role of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway
The Accra-Kumasi Expressway is featuring heavily in the government's job creation plans.
The road that will link Accra to the Ashanti Region, through the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions is expected to create over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction.
The expressway, which is on a new alignment, will reduce the current travel from Accra to Kumasi by 50 kilometres, from 250 kilometres to 198.7 kilometres.
Source: Getty Images
Forson announced that eight communities are going to get interchanges as part of this project.
The interchanges will be located at Accra, Adeiso, Asamankese, Akyem Oda, Ofoase, Lake Bosomtwe and Kumasi.
Government to repeal COVID-19 levy
YEN.com.gh reported that the government has moved to scrap the COVID-19 levy in the budget.
Forson has laid a bill to allow for the repeal of the controversial Akufo-Addo era tax.
He said that abolishing the levy would return GH¢3.7 billion to individuals and businesses, while broader VAT reforms are expected to bring greater benefits.
Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
