The Member of Parliament for the Juaben constituency, Francis Kwabena Berepong Owusu-Akyaw, contends that the government has failed to deliver on the pledges and promises outlined in the 2025 budget statement.
Mr. Owusu-Akyaw, who also serves on the Lands and Natural Resources Committee, stated that he personally did not see the things captured in the 2025 budget materialise.
Speaking on the program Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, the lawmaker suggested that the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, should have acknowledged the government’s failure to achieve the 2025 budget targets, offered an apology, and proposed to recapture those commitments in the upcoming 2026 budget, ensuring delivery before setting new targets or making new pledges.
He stressed that since the government could not deliver on the 2025 targets, it was appropriate for the Minister to have apologised and recaptured them instead of presenting a new budget with fresh promises.
Reacting to the 2026 budget statement presented in Parliament last week, Mr. Owusu-Akyaw also raised significant concerns regarding the Ghana Gold Board, demanding clarity on its source of funding.
He emphasised the need for government accountability, noting that despite the government announcing an allocation of $479 million to the Gold Board in 2025, no update was provided in the mid-year budget review.
He finds it deeply troubling that the Gold Board is reportedly functioning without any apparent budgetary allocation, with the only mention being a partnership with the Bank of Ghana to purchase gold for the bank’s reserves.
Furthermore, the legislator commented on the increased allocation for the NAIMOS team (National Anti-Illegal Mining Operation Squad) from GHC50 million to GHC150 million, urging the government to support the team in intensifying its activities, particularly in monitoring, to effectively clamp down on illegal mining.
He also highlighted a failure in the forestry sector, pointing out that the previous budget promised to support the Forestry Commission in reclaiming 500 hectares of degraded land, but “as of now, we have not seen any area reclaimed, which clearly shows that the necessary allocations for this exercise were not executed.”
Addressing infrastructure, Mr. Owusu-Akyaw cited significant gaps in the road sector commitments, noting that the government promised to work on 10 kilometres of roads in some deprived areas and constituencies, but this did not happen, even in his own constituency. Despite this failure, the government has recaptured the exact pledge in the 2026 budget, promising to work on 10 kilometres of roads in 165 constituencies.
He found this contradictory, questioning why the pledge was being recaptured for 166 constituencies when the previous commitment covered 266, pointing out that the total far exceeds the 275 constituencies in Ghana, which suggests significant gaps and demands answers.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
