Alexander Afenyo-Markin
The Minority in Parliament has criticised the 2025 Budget Statement and Economic Policy presented by the government, describing it as a “sakawa” budget filled with deception and unrealistic promises.
At a press briefing led by former Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minority accused the government of manipulating fiscal data, misleading Ghanaians on economic realities, and failing to address critical issues such as cost of living, transport costs, and energy bills.
Cooked Figures and IMF Concerns
Dr. Amin Adam challenged the government’s claim that it inherited a broken economy, asserting that the fiscal deficit and primary balance figures presented in the budget had been manipulated.
He accused the Finance Minister of artificially inflating unreleased claims by GH¢49 billion to create the impression of a worse economic situation.
“The government is misinforming Ghanaians about the economy we handed over. They are quoting a fiscal deficit of 8.3% and a primary balance deficit of 3.7%, but these are cooked figures. When we interrogate the data, it will be clear that we left a primary balance surplus of 0.7%,” he stated.
He further criticised the Finance Minister for prematurely announcing that Ghana had breached its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme conditions, even before the IMF’s official review in April 2025.
According to Dr. Adam, such a move could scare away investors and harm the country’s reputation in the international financial market.
Big Push Programme
The Minority dismissed the government’s $10 billion Big Push infrastructure initiative as deceptive, highlighting that the 2025 budget only allocated $800 million for the programme.
“They claim to invest $10 billion, but with only $800 million in the first year, even if they increase spending by $1 billion annually, they won’t reach $5 billion by 2028. The jobs they are promising Ghanaians are ‘sakawa’ jobs. They will not happen,” Dr. Amin Adam argued.
He also cast doubt on the effectiveness of the 24-hour economy initiative, pointing out that industry growth under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government was 7% in 2024, whereas projections under the current government only average 5% from 2025 to 2028.
Failure to Address Cost of Living
The Minority slammed the budget for failing to address rising transport fares, high energy bills, and increasing petroleum product prices, which directly affect the daily lives of Ghanaians.
“This budget does not tackle transport costs or petroleum prices, which will continue to drive up fares. Electricity and water bills remain high, and yet the government has no plan to reduce them,” he noted.
Deception on VAT
The Minority also accused the government of misleading Ghanaians on tax relief measures.
They argued that while the Finance Minister announced the removal of VAT on motor insurance, the government quietly reintroduced VAT on all other non-life insurance policies, thereby increasing the tax burden.
“They are trying to deceive Ghanaians. The insurance industry penetration is only 1.1%, yet they have reintroduced VAT on all non-life insurance, except motor vehicle insurance. Instead of reducing taxes, they are increasing them,” Dr. Amin Adam asserted.
Additionally, the Minority condemned the extension of the Growth and Sustainability Levy for the mining sector from 1% to 3% until 2028, arguing that taxing a key growth sector would hurt industrial expansion and economic growth.
Gold Board Funding: A “Loot and Share” Scheme?
The government’s decision to allocate $279 million to the Gold Board also came under fire, with the Minority describing it as an attempt to divert taxpayer money for personal gain.
“We never funded the Gold-for-Oil programme from the budget. It was a revolving fund handled by the Bank of Ghana. Now, they want to use taxpayer money to benefit their cronies. This is a clear ‘loot and share’ scheme, and we will resist it,” Dr. Amin Adam warned.
Concerns Over Free SHS Funding
The Minority further expressed concerns about the government’s approach to funding Free Senior High School (SHS), warning that it could be a ploy to introduce cost-sharing for parents in the future.
“There is no sustainable funding for Free SHS in this budget. They claim to use GETFund, but GETFund is meant for infrastructure, not operational costs. This is an attempt to frustrate the programme so they can later ask parents to pay,” he alleged.
Agenda 111 and Women’s Development Bank
Dr. Amin Adam also criticised the lack of dedicated funding for Agenda 111 hospitals, warning that the government had diverted funds originally allocated for the project.
Similarly, he dismissed the GH¢51.3 million allocation for the Women’s Development Bank, arguing that it falls far short of the GH¢400 million capital requirement for setting up a bank.
“This is an empty promise to Ghanaian women. Even with a female Vice President, they are still deceiving our women,” he remarked.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House