Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says Ghana’s New Economy will confront the human cost of unemployment and address the barriers preventing young people, farmers and small businesses from building sustainable livelihoods.

According to him, the country could no longer accept a situation in which education fails to lead to employment, talent remains unsupported and productive effort yields little opportunity.

“Unemployment is personal. It is the graduate who has finished school but cannot find work. It is the young person with talent but no capital,” he said.

Dr Forson’s message places jobs and economic opportunity at the centre of the New Economy, drawing attention to the everyday struggles behind unemployment figures.

He highlighted the plight of farmers who produce without reliable markets and small business owners whose ambitions to expand are frustrated by the cost of credit. His remarks underscored the need to address both the search for work and the obstacles facing those capable of creating it.

For families, he said, the burden is particularly painful after years of sacrifice to finance a child’s education.

“It is the family that sacrifices to educate a child, only to watch that child sit at home.”

The Finance Minister rejected the idea that such experiences should become an accepted feature of national life.

“No serious nation can accept this as normal. The New Economy says Ghana must no longer accept it.”

He made these remarks in an engagement with students and faculty of the University of Development Studies at their Nyankpala Campus.