By Beatrice Badu
The Minority in Parliament has criticised the government over what it describes as a failure to create jobs, address the rising cost of living and fulfil key campaign promises, accusing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration of offering Ghanaians a paper economy instead of tangible economic opportunities.
Addressing the media on the 2027 Budget, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin questioned the government’s claims of economic progress, demanding to know why funds could be made available for the Mexican debt exchange programme while outstanding payments to teachers, nurses and other public sector workers, as well as recruitment needs, remained unresolved.
He welcomed the government’s readiness to meet its obligations under the debt exchange programme but questioned the consistency of its financial priorities.
Afenyo-Markin also challenged the government to provide figures on the number of jobs created since assuming office, arguing that unemployment and the cost of living could not be addressed through slogans and economic statistics alone.
“Ghanaians want jobs, jobs, jobs. We are not interested in data. We are not interested in a paper economy,” he said.
He further argued that the government had failed to create an enabling environment for businesses to grow, accusing it of relying heavily on taxation rather than providing incentives to support private-sector investment.
The Minority Leader also criticised the government’s handling of the proposed Women’s Development Bank, questioning why the initiative, which featured in the 2025 and 2026 budget statements, was not addressed in the 2027 Budget.
He described the omission as another unfulfilled promise to women and traders across the country.
On the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, Afenyo-Markin accused the government of reversing the previous administration’s industrialisation incentives.
He said the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government offered incentives on both machinery and raw materials to attract investors, but the current administration was proposing a one-year exemption on machinery brought into the country.
He argued that the proposed arrangement would not provide sufficient incentives for private-sector investors to establish and expand businesses.
Afenyo-Markin also criticised the government over electricity tariff increases, which he claimed had risen by almost 28 per cent, saying the development further undermined the ability of businesses to operate and create jobs.
He maintained that the private sector remained central to economic growth and accused the NDC government of failing to provide the necessary conditions for businesses to flourish.
The Minority Leader concluded that the 2027 Budget offered little hope, insisting that Ghanaians were more interested in employment, affordable living conditions and the fulfilment of campaign promises than economic projections.
