SONA Jobs Row Deepens as Economist, Party Founder and RTI Filing Pull in Different Directions

A dispute over President John Dramani Mahama’s claim that his government created over one million jobs in 2025 has widened into a multi-front argument, drawing in an independent economist, a minor party founder, and a lawyer who has now filed formal Right to Information (RTI) requests to demand a breakdown of the figures from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

The controversy centres on a statement from Mahama’s February 27, 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA). The President cited Ghana Statistical Service data indicating that over one million Ghanaians found employment between the first and third quarters of 2025, and that approximately 950,000 people also exited multidimensional poverty over the same period.

Independent fact-checkers have challenged the methodology behind the figure. The actual net change in employment between the first and third quarters of 2025 was 690,000, not one million. The higher figure was derived by comparing average employment levels across two different periods, a method analysts say measures employment at different points in time rather than the actual number of people who found work. Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu has defended the approach, arguing that comparing employment averages is a legitimate analytical method.

Chartered Economist Dr. Prince Obiri Yeboah offered a measured verdict. He acknowledged that the one million figure was “not entirely true” based on Ghana Statistical Service data, but was careful to add context. “Most of his assertions were true. Most of what he said was about sustainability,” he said on Oyerepa Radio, noting that the current economic climate appears relatively more stable compared to the previous administration and that progress on inflation and cedi stability is real, if often misunderstood by the public.

Kenneth Nana Kwame, founder of the Action People’s Party (APP), took a more direct line in defence of the President. He argued that the jobs in question were largely public sector appointments in teaching, policing, and healthcare, and that these carry immediate, visible results. “President Mahama did not mislead Ghanaians. He has employed teachers, police officers, and medical practitioners,” he said on Angel FM, drawing a contrast with what he described as previous governments’ emphasis on company creation over direct employment.

On the legal front, private legal practitioner Kwesi Botchwey Junior has filed RTI requests with both the GSS and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), seeking a sector-by-sector breakdown of the jobs created, including a split between private and public sector employment, as well as details on the reported GH¢600 million in asset recoveries cited at page 32 of the SONA.

The GSS and the Presidency have not responded to the RTI filings as of the time of publication. The debate is unlikely to be resolved until the GSS publishes its fourth quarter 2025 labour force data, which will provide a fuller picture of the employment trajectory across the full year.