The Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has pushed back strongly against the Ndc’s claims that the New Patriotic Party administration left behind no fiscal buffers. He made his case during the post-budget debate, where he used official government records and figures from Appendix 2A of the 2026 Budget to defend the NPP’s economic record.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah drew the attention of the House to the revenue tables, reminding MPs that the Minority had warned during the mid-year review that the government’s revenue targets were too ambitious. He noted that the figures had confirmed their own warning, since by the half-year mark revenue was underperforming by about 3 billion Ghana cedis. He added that the shortfall had widened to about 8 billion cedis at the time of the debate.
He argued, however, that official records from the Controller and Accountant General showed that the previous NPP administration had left a buffer of about 11 billion cedis for the incoming NDC government. He added that under the NDC, the half-year revenue shortfall had reached about 14 billion cedis, a situation which placed the economy under pressure and limited spending choices.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah explained that the present revenue gap was the main reason the government had been forced to cut expenditure by about 28 billion cedis. He told Parliament that the country could not continue to depend on ambitious promises without improving the way it mobilises revenue. As he put it, “all the promises that the government has made, without revenue mobilisation you cannot fulfil it.” He urged the House, especially the Majority side, to remain focused on the structural issues that determine whether budget commitments can be honoured. He argued that good numbers alone were not enough, and that Ghana needed a stronger base to withstand external pressures
