The Minority in Parliament has torn into the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, accusing the government of presenting conflicting financial data to the House while dismissing its flagship ‘New Economy’ agenda as a mere rebranding of the 24-Hour Economy policy.
Speaking to the parliamentary press corps on Friday, November 13, 2026, shortly after Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson delivered the budget, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, argued that glaring numerical inconsistencies across the document raise serious doubts about the credibility of the government’s fiscal projections.
According to the former Finance Minister, a thorough scrutiny of the statement uncovered contradictory figures for critical macroeconomic indicators and expenditure lines.
He pointed out that Ghana’s gross international reserves at the end of September 2026 were captured as US12.7 billion in one paragraph, yet recorded as US12.1 billion in another section of the same document.
Similar discrepancies were flagged in the allocations for the government’s Big Push programme, which appeared variously as GH¢27.8 billion, GH¢28 billion, and GH¢29.8 billion across different pages. Capital expenditure figures were equally inconsistent, shifting between GH¢98.4 billion, GH¢98.3 billion, and GH¢100.4 billion.
Dr Amin Adam also faulted the budget’s risk assessment section, noting that while the document claimed to outline five principal economic risks, only four were actually listed.
He contended that major fiscal threats—specifically losses at the Bank of Ghana, COCOBOD’s GH¢30.55 billion debt burden, and mounting energy sector arrears—were conspicuously left out.
“The Budget’s numbers do not add up. Where the numbers do not match, Ghanaians must ask which one is real,” he said.
He demanded immediate clarification from the Ministry of Finance to reconcile the figures, stressing that Parliament requires accurate and uniform data to effectively scrutinise the administration’s revenue targets and spending plans.
Turning his attention to the policy direction of the budget, Dr Amin Adam maintained that the Minority had been vindicated in its earlier assertion that the government’s newly touted ‘New Economy’ was simply a repackaged version of the 24-Hour Economy—a claim government officials had previously dismissed as false.
He urged the public to compare Section 3 of the 2027 Budget directly against the 24-Hour Economy policy booklet published in July 2025.
“The conclusion is clear. The New Economy is a rebranding of the failed 24-Hour Economy,” he said.
Breaking down the parallels, the Karaga legislator noted that six core pillars of the New Economy mirror existing programmes in the July 2025 booklet. He explained that the financing component replicates Fund 24, the agricultural drive mirrors Grow 24, and the focus on textiles and pharmaceuticals corresponds directly to Make 24.
He added that the tourism and technology pillars replicate Show 24 and Aspire 24 respectively, while energy remains the primary enabler, alongside a minerals pillar that explicitly promises a 24-Hour critical minerals processing enclave.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana