Some traders in Kumasi have expressed grave concern about the low salary levels of public sector workers in the country.
Sharing their expectations on the 2026 budget statement in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi, the traders believed that if public sector workers were well paid, it would increase their purchasing power and this would transcend into good sales for traders.
A budget statement is a government document outlining the revenue and expenditure plans for an upcoming fiscal year.
This is crucial for detailing the government’s fiscal strategy, economic policies and spending priorities for the year.
The government had already announced a nine percent salary adjustment for public sector workers across board starting from January 2026.
The announcement had been received with mixed reactions from sections of the public.
While many people have expressed deep concern about the meagre increase in view of the current high cost of living, others are of the view that it was important for the government to maintain fiscal discipline to help consolidate the relative stability in the economy.
Apart from expectations in the public sector salary increment to boost economic activities in the market, some residents in the metropolis expect the budget to include plans to improve inner-city transportation to ease the daily struggle of workers to and from work.
Again, creation of job opportunities for the youth to minimise unemployment, plans to reduce utility costs, and support for farmers to increase food production to help reduce prices of food on the market.
Fosu Adjei, a carpet seller, noted that the construction of inner-city roads would lessen the struggles of citizens to move within the city to and from work to home.
“It is always stressful to get to work in the morning and to the house in the evening after work due to the heavy traffic in the city,” he stated.
Rev James Kojo Appiah, a Minister at the Assemblies of God Church, Ghana said he expected that the government would allocate enough resources to support the fight against illegal mining.
He noted that illegal mining was destroying farmlands used to cultivate food crops as well as our water bodies.
