The debate on the 2024 Budget Statement commenced on the floor of Parliament yesterday, with the Majority Caucus insisting that the financial policy document offers hope to Ghanaians, while the Minority Caucus argued that it would deepen the country’s economic woes.
The discussion followed the presentation of the budget by the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
Leading the debate from the Minority side, Ranking Member of the Finance Committee and former Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, expressed concerns about the government’s economic projections.
He criticised inconsistencies in the budget, arguing that there were discrepancies between the main text and its appendices.
He noted that critical government initiatives, including the informal sector were heavily underfunded.
According to him, the allocation for goods and services, which is fundamental to implementing government policies, stood at just GH¢6.3 billion, making it difficult to fund key projects.
He also questioned the credibility of the budget’s figures, stating that the Finance Minister had based fiscal deficit projections on unaudited data.
He warned that presenting such figures without proper verification could undermine confidence in the budget.
Adding to the debate, Member of Parliament (MP) of Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, described the budget as one focused on the poor and ordinary Ghanaian, highlighting its prioritisation of education and social intervention programmes.
On her part, the MP for Atiwa East, Abena Asare, supported the minority’s criticisms, saying global economic challenges had impacted Ghana’s economy during the previous government’s tenure of office.
She stated that even advanced economies struggled in 2021, so it was unfair for the current government to blame the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) government entirely for current economic difficulties.
She questioned why the majority kept criticising the past government’s handling of inflation when the budget itself acknowledged that inflation was a problem across the ECOWAS region.
She also dismissed claims that the previous government left a weak economy, pointing out that in 2016, Ghana’s debt had increased by GH¢20 billion, causing a decline in GDP growth.
“The NPP government inherited a very weak economy from the NDC,” she stressed.
Addressing concerns about unemployment, she noted that youth expectations for high growth and government employment programmes had not been met in the 2025 budget.
She further stated that paragraph 478 of the budget policy document announced a freeze on public sector hiring, while economic growth was projected at 4.4 per cent, lower than the previous administration’s 5.7 per cent.
Contributing to the debate, MP for Bia East, Richard Acheampong, argued that the current government inherited a struggling economy and will work to stabilise it.
He insisted that the rising cost of living reflected the economic mismanagement of the previous administration.
He also indicated that inflation stood at 9.6 per cent at the end of 2016 but had risen to 19.2 per cent by the end of 2024, a situation he blamed on external factors and past policy failures.
However, he maintained that the 2025 budget contained several social intervention programmes aimed at cushioning vulnerable citizens, describing it as a budget of hope.
In his submission, the MP for Nhyiaeso in the Ashanti Region, Stephen Amoah, stressed that the NPP inherited an economy in “deep crisis” in January 2017 after the NDC lost elections.
As the debate continued, the two sides remained sharply divided on whether the 2025 budget will bring economic relief or further exacerbate hardship to Ghanaians.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU
