Ghana’s public finances could face renewed strain as the government estimates a GH₵12 billion fiscal requirement to absorb more than 145,000 qualified but unemployed professionals in the health and education sectors, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem has said.
Mr Ampem said the backlog of trained professionals awaiting recruitment poses a significant economic and budgetary challenge, with ripple effects on productivity, service delivery, and fiscal sustainability.
He revealed that the health sector alone accounts for about 74,000 unemployed professionals, most of whom completed training between 2019 and 2024.
Ghana produces an average of 26,000 health graduates annually, but only 13,000 are absorbed due to financial constraints.
“Since 2019, we have accumulated a backlog of about 74,000 health professionals who have completed training but are still waiting to be recruited,” Mr Ampem said, warning that the employment gap is widening each year.
The education sector faces a similarly worrying situation. Training institutions such as colleges of education and universities churn out between 35,000 and 81,000 graduates annually, yet a significant number remain jobless. Mr Ampem indicated that there are currently 71,000 trained teachers awaiting employment.
“Every year, about 14,000 education graduates are not absorbed into the public system, and that backlog now stands at roughly 71,000,” he added.
From a macroeconomic perspective, the situation presents a dual challenge for policymakers, balancing employment creation with fiscal discipline.
According to Mr Ampem, recruiting all the professionals would require an additional GH₵12 billion annually, comprising GH₵6 billion each for the health and education sectors.
“This estimate only covers the backlog. It doesn’t include new graduates entering the labour market yearly. Absorbing them without corresponding fiscal reforms would put unsustainable pressure on the national wage bill,” he said on the Citi Breakfast show on Wednesday.
The Deputy Minister said the government remains cautious about expanding the public payroll, given its impact on budget deficits, debt servicing, and macroeconomic stability.
He stressed that fiscal space must be managed prudently to avoid reversing the recent economic gains made under the IMF-supported Post-COVID Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).
He noted that the Finance Ministry is exploring public-private partnership (PPP) models and other employment schemes to help the private sector absorb some of the trained professionals.
“The government alone cannot employ everyone. We need to empower private health facilities, education startups, and community-based initiatives to create sustainable employment pathways,” he said.
“We are fully aware of the difficulties some newly recruited workers face. The Ministry of Finance is working with relevant agencies to resolve payment delays and improve payroll management. Our approach is to maintain fiscal discipline while addressing social needs. We are working with the sector ministries to design a multi-year recruitment plan that balances affordability with service delivery,” he added.
