Professor Godfred Bokpin of the University of Ghana Business School has called on the Mahama administration to place greater emphasis on job creation for Ghana’s growing number of unemployed young people, rather than focusing on celebrating increases in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He noted that many countries are shifting away from treating GDP growth as the sole indicator of economic success, and said Ghana could learn from these alternative approaches.
“The economy will continue to dominate political discussions, especially when it comes to job creation. We must look beyond GDP growth and focus on job growth. Many young people have completed school and are still struggling to find employment,” Professor Bokpin said in an interview.
Meanwhile, the government stated on November 17 that the 2026 Budget was deliberately designed to promote economic transformation and reduce poverty.
It also acknowledged that traditional measures such as GDP do not always capture improvements in the living standards of citizens.
The Ministry of Finance explained that while GDP remains a widely used measure of economic performance, it has clear limitations in assessing poverty reduction.
This view was presented at the KPMG/UNDP 2026 Post-Budget Forum held on Monday, November 17, 2025, in Accra.
