Is Job Creation Truly the Surest Path to Improving Incomes?
Ghana’s latest tax adjustments, the removal of the COVID-19 Levy and marginal changes to VAT, have reignited an old but critical debate: what is the most effective and sustainable way to improve the living conditions of the average Ghanaian? Is it tax relief, temporary government cushions, or the long-promised job creation agenda? The answer, as many economists have stressed, seems obvious. But if job creation is indeed the surest path to improving incomes, why has Ghana struggled to make it a national priority?
Professor Patrick Asuming’s recent remarks highlight this essential truth: no amount of one-off reliefs, freebies, or political giveaways can match the life-changing impact of stable employment and growing incomes, we believe it should form the backbone of Ghana’s long-term economic strategy. After all, how much can a levy removal do if citizens still lack the jobs that generate meaningful incomes in the first place?
The removal of the COVID-19 Levy is undeniably welcome. Households have carried this burden long after the emergency that justified it had faded. Its abolition is a necessary correction, not a revolutionary economic stimulus. Yet many citizens greeted the announcement with visible relief. Shouldn’t that concern us? Should a nation’s economic hope hinge on the disappearance of a small levy, rather than the emergence of solid, well-paying jobs?
This moment should force us to confront a deeper national problem: Ghana has become a country surviving on temporary measures because it has failed to build permanent solutions. Tax cuts help, yes, but they do not create enduring prosperity. What creates prosperity is work. What sustains lives is income. And what lifts families out of poverty is opportunity, not episodic policy adjustments.
To be fair, the Finance Minister’s commitment to undertake tax reforms from 2027 could shape a more efficient and fairer system. Yet one must ask: reforms for what purpose if the productive base of the economy remains weak? A modernised tax system without job creation risks becoming a more efficient mechanism for taxing the same struggling citizens.
That is why improving tax compliance, especially in VAT, must go hand in hand with policies that stimulate business growth. Technology and AI-driven enforcement can boost revenue significantly, but those gains should be channelled into creating the conditions for job expansion. After all, what is revenue mobilisation worth if unemployment continues to suffocate the youth?
Ghana’s path to meaningful, widespread income improvement lies in deliberate, sustained job creation, not in reliefs that fade with time. The government must shift its focus from celebrating minor fiscal adjustments to championing major economic opportunities.
Removing the COVID-19 Levy brings momentary relief. Creating jobs brings lasting transformation. The real question is: which path will Ghana choose?
