The Member of Parliament for Bekwai, Ralph Poku-Adusei, has accused the ruling NDC government of failing to create a single job in its first year despite what he described as “impressive statistics on paper.”
Taking his turn in the parliamentary debate on the 2026 Budget on Friday, the NPP MP said the Finance Minister’s presentation was heavy on personal achievements and favourable economic indicators but lacked any objective evidence of improved living conditions for ordinary Ghanaians.
According to him, the government’s claims that inflation has declined, the cedi has strengthened, and credit ratings have improved do not reflect the lived realities of citizens struggling under severe economic hardship.
“Mr. Speaker, the reality is ZERO jobs created from the 2025 budget,” he stated. “After 10 months in office with no tangible evidence of job creation, they now promise 800,000 jobs in 2026 without showing where the money will come from. This budget is clearly artificial.”
Poku-Adusei argued that Ghanaians voted overwhelmingly for employment opportunities, not what he called the “personal achievements” of the Finance Minister. He noted that, rather than addressing unemployment, the country is witnessing a rise in street begging—an indication, he said, of worsening joblessness.
“Begging on the street is becoming a profession simply because there are no jobs,” he told the House. “What Ghanaians expected to see in this budget is simple: that after one year in office, the NDC government created even one job. Mr. Speaker, I dare my colleagues on the other side to point to a single job created in 2025. The answer is zero.”
The Bekwai MP maintained that the government’s priorities are misaligned with the needs of the populace and urged the administration to redirect its focus.
“Mr. Speaker, the priorities of the government today are at variance with the priorities of Ghanaians. They should reconsider their priorities,” he said. “Ghanaians voted for them to do their bidding, not their personal bidding. All that our people want is jobs, jobs, and more jobs—and we can take care of ourselves.”