Former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has strongly criticized the 2025 Budget, describing it as “dead on arrival” and ineffective in tackling Ghana’s economic challenges.
The budget, which was presented by Finance Minister Dr. Ato Forson on March 11, outlines plans for job creation, the establishment of a Women Development Bank, and the abolition of taxes such as the E-Levy and betting tax introduced by the previous Akufo-Addo administration.
However, Dr. Amin Adam dismissed these initiatives, arguing that the government lacks the commitment and resources to fulfill its promises, particularly on job creation.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s “The Point of View” with Bernard Avle, Dr. Amin Adam questioned the credibility of the government’s employment strategy, accusing it of merely replacing workers from the previous administration rather than creating new opportunities.
“The first issue is the jobs the budget promises to deliver. I don’t think they are going to deliver those jobs. I will be very happy if those jobs are created so that the unemployed youth can find work,” he stated.He further criticized the government’s hiring policies, arguing that while officials deny a freeze on public sector employment, their actions suggest otherwise.
“By declaring a net freeze on employment in the public sector, they are simply telling the Ghanaian youth who had hopes of securing public sector jobs that they will not get them. They sacked the people we employed just to replace them with their own supporters,” he alleged.Dr. Amin Adam also cast doubt on the viability of the Women Development Bank, a new initiative aimed at supporting women entrepreneurs.
“The Women Development Bank cannot be delivered because they only allocated GHC51 million to its establishment when the minimum capital requirement for a universal bank is GHC400 million,” he argued.He called on the government to focus on genuine job creation rather than engaging in politically motivated public sector replacements.