New Economy: Every policy, investment, and cedi must create jobs — Ato Forson Pledges

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has pledged to place job creation at the center of the New Economy program, declaring that every policy, investment, and cedi must work to create employment for Ghanaians.

Speaking at an engagement on the New Economy at the University of Ghana, Dr. Forson emphasized that employment must be the core purpose of the initiative. “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 minister noted that the urgency of job creation is rooted in the everyday struggles of people whose education, talent, and hard work have yet to translate into opportunities.

“Unemployment is not just a statistic. It is personal,” he said. He illustrated the challenge through the experiences of graduates unable to find work, talented young people without capital, and parents who have sacrificed to educate their children only to see no 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 added.

For Dr. Forson, these realities explain why employment cannot be treated as a secondary concern in Ghana’s economic transformation.

“That is why job creation is not an appendix to the New Economy. It is the heart of it,” he emphasized. He cautioned, however, that ambition and public declarations must be matched by concrete action.

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