Policy analyst and founding president of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has criticised successive governments for what he describes as decades of hollow promises to Ghana’s private sector, warning that failure to remove structural barriers to business growth is worsening the country’s unemployment crisis.

Speaking on Joy SMS, Mr Cudjoe said policymakers have often paid lip service to job creation while neglecting the practical reforms needed to help businesses expand and employ more people.

His comments come in the wake of revelations that more than 405,000 Ghanaians applied for just 5,000 positions in the country’s security services — figures that have sparked renewed debate about the scale of youth unemployment.

The numbers were disclosed by the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, who told journalists in Parliament on Wednesday, March 11, that the applicants included about 75,000 university graduates and 330,000 holders of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Reacting to the figures, Mr Cudjoe said the situation reflects a broader failure to build an economy where the private sector can absorb large numbers of young people entering the job market.

“All the things you're making — please channel those into productive sectors of this economy,” he said, directing his remarks at policymakers. “The private sector needs certainty.”

He singled out electricity pricing as one of the structural challenges hurting businesses. According to him, the progressive tariff system — where electricity costs increase as consumption rises — discourages productive activity and places an additional burden on companies trying to grow.

Mr Cudjoe argued that if households are already struggling with escalating electricity bills, businesses face even greater pressure to remain competitive.

Beyond utility costs, he also criticised what he described as the politicisation of private enterprise in Ghana.

The IMANI Africa founder said he frequently hears from business owners who claim contracts are cancelled or disrupted after a change in government, creating uncertainty that discourages investment and long-term planning.

“How do you live in a country where people's lives are so politicised economically?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has acknowledged the limited number of available security service jobs, noting that the government plans to retain the data of qualified applicants who cannot be absorbed immediately.

He indicated that a second phase of recruitment could take place in 2026, depending on Ghana’s exit from its ongoing programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

However, Mr Cudjoe insisted that relying on periodic government recruitment exercises is not a sustainable solution to unemployment.

According to him, the real answer lies in creating stable policies and economic conditions that allow the private sector to hire, expand and compete effectively.