Dr. Mahama Tiah Abdul-Kabiru, Member of Parliament for Walewale, has questioned the sustainability of jobs expected to be created under the government’s 2026 Budget.
Speaking in an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, Dr. Abdul-Kabiru said the budget’s job-creation projections raise concerns about long-term employment security.
“The budget has given me indications that they’re going to create jobs, but the jobs they are going to create are 800,000 jobs, about 490,000 are coming from construction workers, which does not give me a sense of sustainable and decent jobs that Ghanaians are looking for,” he argued.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, while presenting the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Thursday, November 13, announced that the government aims to create up to 800,000 jobs across various sectors.
He noted that flagship infrastructure and industrial programmes would anchor the job-creation agenda. According to him, the GH¢63 billion worth of road contracts awarded under the Big Push initiative is projected to generate an estimated 490,000 jobs, based on World Bank job-creation benchmarks for road investments.
Despite this projection, Dr. Abdul-Kabiru maintains that heavy reliance on construction-related employment may not provide the lasting and decent jobs many Ghanaians expect.
