Students at the University of Ghana have expressed skepticism over government claims that the country’s economy is firmly on the path to recovery, saying they are yet to feel any meaningful improvement in their daily lives.
Their concerns follow recent remarks by Ghana’s Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who assured global investors during the 2025 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C., that Ghana’s economy is “on track” and poised to sustain its gains.
According to the Finance Minister, the government’s efforts have led to reduced debt vulnerabilities, stronger macroeconomic fundamentals, and continued reforms aimed at achieving long-term stability.
However, for many young Ghanaians — particularly UG students — those improvements seem to exist only on paper.
“Things are getting better on record because when you go online and check what’s going on in the country compared to the world stage, you realize a lot is happening, but my problem is that all these things don’t really seem visible to the average Ghanaian. When it comes to transportation, cost of living, or price of goods and services, it still remains the same. In our day-to-day lives, nothing is changing,” one student told Univers News.
Another student, who runs a small business, shared similar sentiments.While acknowledging reports of a stabilizing cedi, she noted that the supposed improvement has not translated into reduced prices on the market.
“I’m hearing things are more stable — the dollar and cedi rate is better now,” she said.
“But I don’t think I’m seeing any changes. I’m an entrepreneur, so I do business. People are still holding on to their high prices. Maybe it’s happening, but Ghanaians haven’t appreciated it enough to reduce prices on the market. The standard of living is still high. Nothing has changed.”
A third student , however, urged patience, suggesting that it may be too early to expect visible outcomes from the government’s policies.
“I don’t think we are feeling the impact of whatever they are saying because prices of foodstuff are still the same, but you never know — it’s been just about 10 months since the new government came into power. Even though we’re not feeling it now, we can still wait and see how it goes.”
While government officials remain optimistic about the recovery agenda, the divergent views among students reflect a broader national sentiment — that economic progress must go beyond statistics and translate into tangible relief for ordinary Ghanaians.
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Story by Bryan Denzel Aryeetey | univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by Erica Odeenyin Odoom
