Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has pledged to place job creation at the centre of the government’s New Economy programme, declaring that every policy, investment and cedi must contribute to creating employment opportunities for Ghanaians.

Speaking at an engagement on the New Economy programme at the University of Ghana, Dr Forson said employment must be the primary objective of the country’s economic transformation agenda, with policies and investments designed to deliver tangible benefits to citizens.

“Job creation is the heart of the NEW ECONOMY. Our pledge is clear: every policy, every investment and every cedi must work to create jobs for Ghanaians!” he stated.

The Finance Minister said the urgency of job creation was reflected in the everyday struggles of people whose education, talents and hard work had yet to translate into meaningful economic opportunities.

“Unemployment is not just a statistic. It is personal,” he said.

He illustrated the human cost of unemployment through the experiences of graduates struggling to secure jobs, talented young people without the capital to establish businesses, and parents who had sacrificed to educate their children but continued to see limited opportunities for them.

“It is the mother who has invested everything in her child’s education and still sees no opportunity. It is the farmer who produces but cannot find a reliable market. It is the country losing the energy of its own youth,” he said.

According to Dr Forson, these challenges demonstrate why employment must not be treated as a secondary objective in Ghana’s economic transformation efforts but rather as a central measure of the success of government policies.

“That is why job creation is not an appendix to the New Economy. It is the heart of it,” he emphasised.

Dr Forson cautioned that the government’s ambition to create jobs must be backed by concrete action, effective planning and disciplined implementation rather than public declarations alone.

“The future we seek will not be created by speeches alone,” he said. “It will require discipline, courage, planning, execution and a national mind that refuses to accept mediocrity.”

The approach places emphasis on ensuring that economic policies translate into opportunities for young people entering the labour market, entrepreneurs seeking to establish businesses, and existing businesses looking to expand their operations and workforce.

It also highlights the importance of connecting economic growth to productive activities that can absorb more workers, improve household incomes and strengthen livelihoods.

For Ghana, where young people continue to seek sustainable employment and opportunities to apply their skills, the effectiveness of such an agenda will depend on how policies are implemented and whether investments generate jobs across different sectors of the economy.

The Finance Minister maintained that achieving this ambition would require a deliberate national effort, supported by sound planning, accountability and effective execution.

The New Economy programme is intended to support Ghana’s economic transformation by directing attention towards productive sectors capable of generating jobs, expanding businesses and creating greater economic opportunities.