Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah Slams Political Theatre in Parliament, Urges Action on 2026 Budget
Accra, Ghana — Former Information Minister and MP for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has raised serious concerns about the government’s 2026 Budget, warning that persistent revenue shortfalls and expenditure cuts expose deep structural weaknesses in Ghana’s economy.
Speaking during Wednesday’s budget debate, Oppong Nkrumah cautioned that despite the government’s self-praise, the fiscal tables contained in the budget reveal a widening gap between projected and actual revenues, a situation he argues could jeopardize essential expenditure commitments.
According to him, government revenue targets have consistently fallen short since January, contradicting claims that the economy is on a path of recovery.
“Mr. Speaker, half-year, when we came here, revenue was underperforming by three billion Ghana cedis,” he said. “As at now, the revenue shortfall is eight billion… and if you add the 11 billion cedis balance brought forward from 2024, that is a 19-billion-cedi gap.”
Oppong Nkrumah pointed to Appendix 2A of the budget, stressing that the government was forced to reduce spending significantly because its revenue measures are not yielding the expected results.
He reminded Parliament that the Minority had warned earlier that the government’s aggressive revenue assumptions would fail, leading to drastic expenditure cuts by the end of the year.
“We told them here that by the end of the year they would have to cut expenditure by 30 billion because their revenue is not performing. Today, when you look at the tables, you have cut expenditure by 28 billion,” he argued. “They are teachers who are waiting to be recruited. And because this government has played politics with the revenue strategy, they are at home. They are nurses who are waiting to be recruited. Because you have played politics with the revenue strategy, they are sitting at home. They are contractors who are waiting to be paid. And because you have been doing politics with the revenue strategy, they have not been paid. they are the flagship programs that young Ghanaians are waiting for this government to fund. And because they have been doing politics with it, they cannot fund even their own flagship programs.”
“They are teachers who are waiting to be recruited. And because this government has played politics with the revenue strategy, they are at home. They are nurses who are waiting to be recruited.” he reiterated.
Responding to government’s claims of relief measures and tax cuts, Oppong Nkrumah said past experience proves that such steps are only temporary if underlying structural issues remain unresolved.
He recalled the enthusiasm that accompanied tax reductions in 2017 but insisted that Ghana’s economic vulnerabilities remain unchanged because long-term reforms have not been implemented.
“If we, the political class, continue this exercise of exciting ourselves and dancing over temporary gains, and we don’t deal with the structural issues, all you need is one major shock and you are back to square one.”
Oppong Nkrumah repeatedly urged the Majority bench to pay close attention to the fiscal tables in the 2026 Budget, arguing that the numbers themselves contradict the government’s optimistic narrative.
“Mr. Speaker, I beg of them to take time and read the tables,” he stated.
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