The Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment’s much-touted GH¢1.6 billion budget for 2026 is largely an illusion, with almost GH¢1 billion consumed by National Service Authority (NSA) allowances alone, leaving little for actual youth enterprise.
The concern came up during a strategic dialogue between the Ministry and IMANI Centre for Policy and Education held in Accra on September 2, 2026.
The IMANI team was led by its Founding President, Franklin Cudjoe, with Vice-President Evans Selorm Branttie, Research Assistant Ransford Brobbey, Associate Kay Codjoe and Technology Expert John Sitsofe Mensah.
According to the report authored by Ransford Brobbey, the dialogue moved from ministerial achievements to a robust evaluation of fiscal constraints and programme execution.
According to IMANI, the Ministry must avoid committing to projects without money, just as with the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), which led to delays and arrears.
Officials of the Ministry explained that although the budget is GH¢1.6 billion on paper, most of it is already committed.
It said about GH¢1.1 billion has been set aside for economic transition programmes, with nearly GH¢1.0 billion set aside to pay National Service personnel allowances alone.
According to the Ministry, this leaves very little for youth business programmes such as Adwumawura.
To address the shortfall, IMANI has proposed that the Ministry partners with big manufacturing and beverage companies to co-finance youth programmes through their corporate social responsibility budgets, instead of relying solely on the central government’s purse.
Both the Ministry and IMANI also agreed on the need for a dedicated Youth Fund backed by law to protect youth interventions from yearly budget constraints and prevent flagship programmes from being underfunded.
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