Budget roundtable

He made the call during a roundtable on the 2026 budget statement organised by the Department of Data Science and Economic Policy, School of Economics, College of Humanities and Legal Studies, University of Cape Coast (UCC).  

It was held on the theme: “From macro-stability to inclusive prosperity: Data-driven strategies for implementing Ghana’s 2026 budget.”  

The event assembled politicians, academia, and industry to interrogate the 2026 budget statement, its promises and shortfalls and how they aligned with medium and long-term development goals of the country.  

The roundtable also featured the Economic Advisor to the Vice-President, Dr Sharif Khalid; the Manager of Macroeconomic Research, GCB Bank, Courage Boti, as well as Dr William Brafu-Insaidoo and Dr Raymond E. Kofinti, both from the Department of Data Science and Economic Policy, UCC. 

Performance

Mr Oppong Nkrumah called for parliamentary performance hearings on various government programmes and interventions to ascertain their outcomes and ensure value for money.  

He said it should not just be about the Public Accounts Committee to see whether you spent the money in accordance with accounting and legal practices, but “about outcomes for which reasons we make those funds available.”  

Stability

On his part, Dr Khalid said that although there had been some windfalls, the current economic stability and high performance indicators were due to the ingenuity of the government.  

He said they inherited an “overheated economy”, but they had managed to return it to normalcy through innovative interventions such as Goldbod, which had spurred transformational change and macroeconomic stability.  

He indicated that the “Big Push,” the government’s flagship programme for road and infrastructure, provided the foundation for many other policies, while the 24-hour economy remained a potent engine to expedite real growth across all sectors, with significant participation of the private sector.  

Dr Khalid was confident that the Big Push alone would create thousands of jobs across the country to mitigate youth unemployment and, therefore, appealed to the citizenry to actively support and participate in the government’s flagship programmes to realise their full potential.  

Dr Brafu-Insaidoo observed that while there was so much emphasis on achieving fiscal growth and stability, investments in major flagship programmes such as the 24-Hour Economy were inadequate.  

He stressed the need for an amendment of the country’s laws to harness its natural resources effectively for development.  

Fiscal path

The Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, Professor Daniel Agyapong, in a speech read on his behalf, observed that despite the macroeconomic successes achieved, Ghana still grappled with poverty, high youth unemployment, and persistent regional inequalities.  

He maintained that the government’s flagship policies could only succeed if they were backed by clear strategies to create jobs, reduce inequalities, and improve the livelihoods of the people.  - GNA