Ghana to Remove Funding Cap, Unlocking GH¢1 Billion for Youth Employment and Apprenticeship

The government plans to free up an additional GH¢1 billion for youth employment and apprenticeship programmes by removing the cap on Communications Service Tax revenue allocated to the initiatives, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has announced.

Presenting the 2027 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, November 12, 2026, Dr. Forson said the government would amend the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947) to eliminate the limit on revenue earmarked for youth employment programmes .

“Government will amend the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947), to remove the cap on funding earmarked for youth employment programmes,” he told Parliament. “This reform will free up additional GH¢1 billion for youth employment and apprenticeship programmes” .

A Long-Standing Constraint Removed

The capping regime has been a persistent obstacle for the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), which has argued that the limit undermined its ability to plan and implement employment interventions. YEA Chief Executive Malik Basintale called for a review in October 2026, citing Section 23(b) of the Youth Employment Act, 2015 (Act 887), which provides for 80 percent of Communications Service Tax revenue as a funding source for the agency .

The fiscal significance is substantial. Communications Service Tax receipts rose 27.5 percent from GH¢472.13 million in 2024 to GH¢602.01 million in 2025, a key contributor to the YEA’s financial recovery from a GH¢77.58 million deficit to a GH¢110.45 million surplus . Removing the cap on this growing revenue stream gives the agency a more predictable and expanding funding base.

“Going forward, Communications Service Tax revenue accruing to youth employment and apprenticeship programmes will no longer be capped,” Dr. Forson said. “This reform will provide more funding to empower young Ghanaians with skills and connect them to employment opportunities” .

Legislative Modernisation

Beyond the funding reform, Dr. Forson announced plans to amend and modernise the Youth Employment Act to harmonise the various youth employment programmes currently operating across different agencies and ministries .

The move toward consolidation reflects a recognition that fragmented interventions—from YEA’s trades and vocations programmes to NaBCo’s graduate placements and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme—have produced uneven results. Dr. Forson has previously criticised temporary employment schemes, stating that “NaBCo and YEA models” cannot deliver lasting jobs and that the economy must be restructured to absorb a population of 35 million.

The Scale of the Challenge

The funding boost comes amid stark unemployment figures. Young people aged 15 to 35 make up 36.9 percent of Ghana’s population, with youth unemployment at 21.9 percent—nearly twice the national rate of 12.8 percent, according to Ghana Statistical Service data released for World Population Day 2026 . Nearly 2 million young people, or 19.5 percent of the youth population, are not in education, employment, or training.

Dr. Forson has described the 1.34 million Ghanaians aged 15 to 24 who are neither working nor studying as “a bomb waiting to explode,” warning the figure could reach 1.7 million within four years without intervention .

The broader 2027 Budget allocates GH¢3.5 billion to the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, including GH¢2 billion for youth employment and skills development programmes, GH¢1 billion for National Service allowances, GH¢170 million for the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, and GH¢200 million for the National Youth Authority .

The Road Ahead

As Parliament begins deliberations on the budget, the amendment’s passage will determine whether the YEA and other programmes can move from capped, uncertain funding to a predictable revenue stream that allows for multi-year planning. Whether that translates into durable employment—rather than the temporary placements that have defined past interventions—remains the government’s central challenge.