CPS Questions Big Push Employment Claims as 490,000 Jobs Remain Unverified

The Centre for Policy Scrutiny (CPS) has challenged the government’s flagship Big Push employment narrative, arguing that there is still no verifiable evidence to substantiate the creation of the 490,000 jobs promised under the programme, despite implementation being underway.

Presenting the think tank’s assessment of Ghana’s 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, labour economist Dr Prince Adjei said the absence of a credible monitoring framework has made it impossible to determine whether the government’s infrastructure and development programmes are translating into meaningful employment.

While acknowledging that several projects have moved beyond the planning phase, he stressed that project execution alone cannot be treated as proof of job creation.

“The promise was 490,000 jobs, but as of the mid-year review we do not have verifiable data to confirm that these jobs have actually been created,” Dr Adjei said.

According to the CPS, only 28 of the 87 Big Push projects assessed have progressed beyond 25% completion, while the remaining 59 projects are still below that threshold, suggesting that many initiatives remain in their early stages.

The think tank argued that Ghana needs to distinguish between temporary construction employment, indirect jobs and long-term sustainable employment, warning that without such classification, employment claims risk becoming difficult to verify and evaluate.

The CPS also questioned the employment impact of major flagship projects, including the proposed Accra–Kumasi Expressway, which had been projected to create about 80,000 jobs. It noted that the project is still largely at the preparatory stage, with right-of-way clearance ongoing, making any meaningful assessment of employment generation premature.

Beyond infrastructure, the organisation said other flagship initiatives—including agricultural enclave roads, agro-processing facilities, garment factories and apprenticeship programmes—have yet to publish sufficient evidence demonstrating actual jobs created.

From a policy perspective, the CPS said Ghana’s employment strategy should evolve from measuring budget allocations and project implementation to tracking verifiable labour-market outcomes. It recommended establishing a national job-creation dashboard capable of providing real-time data on permanent, temporary and indirect jobs generated by public investment programmes.

The recommendation reflects a growing emphasis among economists that employment targets should be supported by transparent, measurable indicators, enabling policymakers, investors and development partners to assess whether public spending is delivering its intended economic and social returns.