Read also:
- Fact-Check: Claim by GoldBod CEO that Ghana’s foreign reserves was $9bn in 2016 FALSE
- Ghana’s International Reserves Projected to Hit $13 Billion by Year-End
- NPC, UNDP rally border communities, security agencies to curb violent extremism
- Cybercrime Crackdown in Accra: 141 Arrested in Tabora and Lashibi
- No EOCO Report Yet on NDC Executives’ Galamsey Allegations – Ayine
El Samuels: MBN360
University of Ghana Business School’s Professor Godfred Bokpin is calling on the government to shift focus from solely pursuing GDP growth to creating jobs for Ghanaians. Prof. Bokpin emphasized that while GDP growth is important, job creation should be the priority.
“GDP growth is not an end in itself,” Prof. Bokpin said. “We need to create jobs, especially for the youth, to reduce poverty and inequality.” He stressed that the government should implement policies that promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and private sector growth to drive job creation.
“The economy will continue to dominate the political discussions, especially when we are talking about job growth. We have to look beyond GDP growth and look at Job growth. People have finished school, and they are looking for jobs,” Prof. Bokpin said in an interview on Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, December 27.
According to him, many countries are moving away from glorifying GDP growth as the primary measure of economic success, and Ghana should draw lessons from such approaches.
Meanwhile, Government on November 17 said the 2026 Budget had been carefully structured to drive economic transformation and reduce poverty, stressing that traditional indicators such as GDP do not fully reflect improvements in the living conditions of citizens.
The Ministry of Finance explained that although GDP is widely used as a benchmark for economic performance, it has limitations when assessing poverty reduction. This position was outlined at the KPMG/UNDP 2026 Post-Budget Forum held on Monday, November 17, 2025, in Accra.
Speaking on behalf of the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Chief Economist Officer and Director of the Real Sector Division at the Ministry of Finance, Samuel Danquah Arkhurst, underscored the need to look beyond GDP when evaluating the overall health of the economy.
Prof. Bokpin’s comments come amid concerns about Ghana’s high unemployment rate, particularly among young people. He urged the government to invest in education and training programs that equip Ghanaians with skills needed for the job market.
