By Edward Aquah, GNA
Accra, March 1, GNA – The Ghana Youth Manifesto Coalition (GYMC), a non-partisan, youth-led initiative, has urged the Government to reverse a 30 per cent budget cut to the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, following the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA).
President John Dramani Mahama delivered his second SONA of his second term in office to Parliament on Friday.
In a statement reacting to the Address, the Coalition acknowledged progress in some youth-related commitments, including the “No-Fee Stress” policy, but warned of a persistent gap between policy pronouncements and lived realities.
It described the establishment of the Youth Ministry as “a progressive institutional acknowledgment of youth centrality,” but expressed concern over the “30.4 per cent decline in the 2026 budget allocation for Goods and Services for this new Ministry.”
“A Ministry without adequate developmental funding risks becoming a ‘consumptive’ agency,” it said, urging Government to restore allocations to apprenticeship and entrepreneurship initiatives and complete stalled Youth Resource Centres.
On economic empowerment, the Coalition said while the President projected macroeconomic stabilisation and renewed growth, “the true measure of recovery lies in whether young people can see the evidence in their daily lives – in job contracts, startup capital, apprenticeships, and expanded markets.”
It noted that more than 50 per cent of the 104 youth-focused commitments under “The PLEDGE” was yet to show verifiable commencement, according to its Youth Promise Tracker.
Announcements on the 24-Hour Economy and AgriNext programmes, it said, “must not remain aspirational frameworks; they must translate into payroll entries, enterprise grants, and value-chain inclusion for young farmers, artisans, and innovators.”
The Coalition commended the Government for implementing the “No-Fee Stress” policy, which relieved over 220,000 Level 100 students of academic fees in 2026, and for distributing six million free sanitary pads.
It described the interventions, together with the scrapping of the E-Levy and other taxes, as moments of “Promise Made, Promise Delivered.”
However, it cautioned that “access without quality is inequity in disguise,” citing a teacher deployment crisis that continued to undermine learning outcomes, particularly in rural areas.
The Coalition raised concerns over the limited emphasis on youth-targeted mental health funding in the 2026 budget, saying social wellbeing was “foundational to national productivity.”
It called for quarterly progress reports on youth-focused commitments and the institutionalisation of an accountability tracker to ensure that major programmes translated into measurable income generation.
“The youth of Ghana are not asking for charity. We are demanding coherence,” the statement said. “Macroeconomic stability without microeconomic opportunity will not sustain hope.”
The Coalition pledged to continue tracking and publicly report on youth-centred commitments made in the Address throughout 2026.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe