A listening budget isn’t enough, jobs must follow – Deloitte

Businesses are calling on government to convert the 2026 Budget from what many see as a “good start” into a catalyst for real economic reform and job creation.

Auditing firm Deloitte Ghana says the scrapping of the Covid-19 levy and the reduction of VAT to 20 percent signal intent but warns that the country is still far from the economic destination it seeks.

At the firm’s National Economic Dialogue and Post-Budget Discussions in Accra, Country Managing Partner Daniel Kwadwo Owusu said the budget has been widely welcomed because it reflects what he calls a “responsive” and “listening” approach.

But he stressed that this early goodwill will only last if government follows through with bold structural changes.

Daniel Kwadwo Owusu noted that while the direction of policy is positive, Ghana remains at the very beginning of a longer journey.

As he put it, “we are nowhere where we want to get to and therefore we are not at the destination at all… every destination, you start at one step.”

He described the 2026 Budget as that initial step, adding that “this is the good step that the government has taken.”

But for Deloitte, the real test is whether the budget translates into jobs and productivity at scale.

Mr. Owusu referenced recent scenes of mass job-seeking such as the crowds at El Wak Stadium as evidence of the urgency. He questioned how Ghana will “create employment for all these masses” and “galvanize all this energy into production.”

Feedback from Deloitte’s clients, he said, shows cautious approval, especially following the reduction in some taxes.

He observed that “it appears that the government is listening,” but emphasised that this is only a beginning. What matters now, he argued, is solving “the real problem real output, delivering employment and delivering what the people are looking for.”

He concluded that business confidence will hinge on consistency and credibility, noting simply that “people respond and react to what the government do. People want to see trust.”

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