‘Budget Of Mistakes’: Afenyo-Markin Accuses Finance Minister of Presenting Fundamentally Flawed Budget
ACCRA, November 27 – A major political confrontation erupted in Parliament today as the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, launched a fierce attack on the government’s financial planning, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy. The MP for Effutu asserted that the budget, presented by the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, is so riddled with mistakes and errors that its figures are entirely “compromised” and unreliable.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Afenyo-Markin argued that the document’s inaccuracies cast doubt on its fundamental integrity. “Mister Speaker, you bring a budget of mistakes. You don’t read over your budget. So, Mr. Speaker, by extension, every figure in this budget is compromised. We must now watch your figures again,” he declared.
🛑 Why Withdrawal is Demanded
For the common reader, the call to “withdraw” a budget is highly significant. The annual budget is essentially the government’s comprehensive financial plan—it dictates where every tax dollar will be spent, how much debt will be taken on, and what economic policies will be implemented for the coming year. If the foundational numbers (the figures for revenue collection, spending forecasts, or debt servicing costs) are wrong, the entire plan built upon them is deemed invalid.
Afenyo-Markin’s stance is that the Parliament cannot responsibly debate or approve a document that is fundamentally flawed. He urged the Minister to act “Without delay… withdraw this budget statement forthwith and go back and do the right thing,” demanding the Finance Minister “Arrest my case” (a parliamentary term meaning to stop the proceedings on the matter).
🤔 Questions on Cabinet Oversight
Adding political weight to his criticism, the Minority Leader questioned the level of institutional scrutiny the document received before it was brought to the legislature. He specifically suggested that the Cabinet—the group of senior ministers who must approve major policies—may not have properly reviewed the document.
“Did this budget go to cabinet? Did they read over this budget?” he asked. By implying a breakdown in the government’s internal review process, Afenyo-Markin suggested that the errors are not merely clerical but reflect a profound neglect of due diligence at the highest levels of governance. He stressed that such a mistake-ridden presentation has “never happened in the history of this country,” raising the political stakes for the Finance Minister.
The 2026 budget, themed “Resetting for Growth, Jobs, and Economic Transformation,” was presented on November 13. Despite the Minority Leader’s strong plea for withdrawal, Parliament is scheduled to conclude the debate on the contentious financial statement later today, November 27. The government must now decide whether to risk pushing a potentially flawed budget through the approval process or to heed the Minority’s warning and correct the document.
