The Alexander Afenyo-Markin has criticised the government’s new Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP), arguing that it does little to ease unemployment among the country’s youth or address urgent economic challenges.
The Effutu MP voiced his concerns in Parliament on Wednesday, shortly after Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson outlined the policy, which seeks to build Ghana’s international reserves to cover up to 15 months of imports by the end of 2028 through large-scale weekly purchases of domestically produced gold.
Afenyo-Markin described the plan as “economic theorising” at a time when many Ghanaians are struggling to find work. “We are not interested in economic theories,” he said, stressing that the government has yet to deliver on its flagship job creation initiative, “one job, three shifts.”
He challenged the finance ministry to provide concrete data on employment outcomes since the administration took office. “It has been one year,” he said. “Ghanaians want to know how many jobs have been created, not projections about import cover.”
Minister Forson defended GANRAP, saying it is vital for restoring macroeconomic stability, strengthening Ghana’s external buffers, and supporting long-term structural transformation following years of currency volatility and high inflation.
Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, has faced persistent fiscal pressures and balance-of-payments constraints, prompting the government to prioritise reserve accumulation as part of broader economic reforms.
The opposition, however, insists that long-term financial strategies must not overshadow immediate social needs, particularly youth employment, highlighting the tension between stabilising the economy and addressing pressing unemployment concerns.
