Budget Surplus Offers Little Relief While Youth Remain Jobless – Prof. Charles Ackah
Economist challenges government’s fiscal priorities amid widespread unemployment
- Prof. Ackah said the country’s economic priorities should shift from fiscal window-dressing to tangible investments in people
- He questioned the real-world impact of the surplus figures
- He emphasized that deficit spending can be justified if it fuels economic expansion
Professor Charles Godfred Ackah, a Finance and Economics lecturer at the University of Ghana, has criticized the government’s celebration of a budget surplus in the 2025 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review, arguing that it offers little comfort to the growing number of unemployed graduates and trained professionals.
Prof. Ackah said the country’s economic priorities should shift from fiscal window-dressing to tangible investments in people, infrastructure, and productivity.
“Fiscal discipline is important if it means cutting waste, curbing corruption, and improving spending efficiency,” he said. “But if it simply means running a budget surplus while nurses sit at home, graduates remain unemployed for years, and universities can’t hire lecturers, then what’s the point?”
He questioned the real-world impact of the surplus figures, highlighting the dire condition of infrastructure and the urgent need for job creation.
“Our roads are terrible—from here to Kumasi and across the country. Infrastructure is crumbling. What we need is investment in productive capacity,” Prof. Ackah noted. “If that requires a reasonable budget deficit to fund such investments, that’s not fiscal recklessness—it’s a growth strategy.”
He emphasized that deficit spending can be justified if it fuels economic expansion and job creation, not luxury or political vanity projects.
“If we’re borrowing—whether from the central bank, Treasury, or external sources—and using those funds to build infrastructure, support private enterprise, and stimulate real productivity, then that’s a responsible use of public finances,” he stressed.
Citing his own students, he expressed frustration at the system’s failure to absorb highly trained individuals.
“I’ve taught first-class graduates who’ve been unemployed for five years. That’s not just a waste of talent—it’s a national crisis.”
Prof. Ackah concluded by challenging the notion that achieving a surplus should be worn as a badge of honour, especially in a country with so many idle resources and urgent developmental needs.
