The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has slammed the 2027 Budget, calling the government a “sloganeering government” that has failed to turn economic stability into jobs and better living conditions.
He said government focused on presenting favourable economic data and promoting its New Economy agenda without showing how it will tackle unemployment and the cost of living.
He spoke to journalists after Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, presented the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Thursday, November 12.
“Let Ghanaians know that this NDC government is a sloganeering government. What they came to do was to subject us to another round of slogans and no jobs,” he said.
“You cannot rebrand unemployment. They cannot slogan away the cost of living,” he asserted.
Mr Afenyo-Markin welcomed the Finance Minister’s announcement that government was ready to pay bondholders under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), describing it as good news.
But he questioned government’s ability to meet other outstanding obligations, including payments to the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG), teachers and nurses, as well as funding for recruitment.
“They claim that they have money to pay domestic debt exchange programme bondholders, those whose savings were postponed and whose payments were deferred. They say they have money to pay. That is good news. We welcome that,” he said.
“But the question is: where is the money to pay JUSAG, the money to pay teachers, the money to pay nurses and the money to recruit?”
He accused government of failing to provide clear figures on jobs created, arguing the budget offered little evidence of tangible improvement in employment.”
They haven’t been able to tell us how many jobs they have created. Ghanaians want jobs, jobs, jobs. We are not interested in data. We are not interested in a paper economy. We are not interested in what they call a New Economy,” he stated.
He also questioned government’s approach to public spending, saying economic data alone will not improve lives if it is not backed by actual expenditure and job creation.
The Minority Leader said the budget offered little hope, claiming even the demeanour of some government MPs and ministers during the presentation reflected low morale.
He further accused the NDC government of failing to deliver promises made to women and traders, particularly its commitment to establish a new bank to give them loans for their businesses.
He said government’s failure to deliver on its campaign promises, including the 24-hour economy initiative, had vindicated the Minority’s earlier criticism of the administration.
