The Minority in Parliament has criticised the government’s projected 5.2 per cent growth target for 2027, calling it unambitious and inadequate to create the jobs young Ghanaians expect.
The caucus argues that the target marks only a slight increase on the economy’s 4.9 per cent baseline growth, despite the government’s proposed US$10 billion economic transformation programme.
Speaking for the Minority on the 2027 budget presented by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee and Karaga MP, Dr Amin Adam, said the projection implied that the programme would contribute just 0.3 percentage points to economic growth in 2027.
“If the baseline is 4.9% and the projected growth rate is 5.2%, you are simply saying that this huge, ambitious New Economy programme can add only 0.3 percentage points to growth in 2027. This is not realistic,” he said.
He also argued that the growth target offered too little prospect of job creation, especially for young people seeking work.
“It offers no hope, because this meagre growth cannot deliver the jobs young people are looking to this government to provide,” he said.
The MP also challenged the government’s assessment of economic performance, contending that growth momentum had weakened between the first halves of 2025 and 2026.
According to the figures he cited, real GDP growth fell from 6.4 per cent in the first half of 2025 to 6.2 per cent in the corresponding period of 2026.
He said non-oil growth—which he described as especially important for job creation in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture—declined more sharply, from 8.2 per cent to 5.9 per cent over the same period.
“Non-oil growth is where jobs are created—in manufacturing, agriculture and other sectors. If it drops from 8.2% in the first half of 2025 to 5.9% in the first half of 2026, it simply shows that the economy is not growing; it is sliding.”
He accused Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson of celebrating economic figures that, in his view, signalled slowing growth rather than a robust recovery.
“This minister had no right to stand on the floor of Parliament and present this as a success. This is mediocrity at its best,” he said.
As part of its wider economic policy and transformation agenda, the government has set a real GDP growth target of at least 5.2 per cent for 2027.
