News:
July 23, 2026
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has delivered a scathing critique of the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, dismissing the government’s economic claims as propaganda and accusing the administration of failing to deliver on its promises.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Mohammed Amin Adams, described the administration as a “talk more, do little government” — a characterization he said was confirmed by the review itself.
Reiterating the caucus’s earlier description of the original 2026 budget as having “only bones, no meat,” Adams labeled it a “co-shia-co” budget — a colloquial term implying emptiness or lack of substance.
Reserves Contradiction
Adams pointed to what he called a “confession” from the Finance Minister regarding international gross reserves. He recalled that when the Reserve Management Policy was presented to Parliament, the government projected reserves would reach 8.6 months of import cover by the end of 2026. However, in the mid-year review, the Minister reportedly stuck to a figure of just three months of import cover.
Primary Deficit Revision
The Minority also challenged revisions to the 2024 primary deficit figures. Adams noted that in the 2025 budget, the Minister reported a primary fiscal deficit of 3.9% for 2024. This was revised down to 3.1% in the 2026 budget statement and has now been revised further to 2.9% in the mid-year review. Adams described these changes as propaganda aimed at undermining the previous administration.
Debt Stock Returns to 2024 Levels
A central point of the Minority’s criticism was the country’s debt stock. According to Adams, the debt stock at the end of 2024 stood at GH¢720.7 billion. In October 2025, the government boasted of reducing it to GH¢630.2 billion. However, as of May 2026, the debt stock had surged back to GH¢720.8 billion.
“The 90 billion Ghana cedis they claimed to have saved has been added back to the debt stock,” Adams stated. He warned that with an additional $1 billion loan recently brought to Parliament for approval, the total addition could exceed GH¢100 billion.
DDEP and Bank of Ghana Losses
The Minority accused the government of hypocrisy over the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). While the Minister reportedly took credit for a decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio to 45%, Adams argued this was achieved through the very debt restructuring the government previously condemned. He noted that Ghana will pay GH¢111 billion over two years to service restructured debts — a figure he contrasted with the GH¢230 billion that would have been owed without the DDEP.
Adams also demanded answers regarding the Bank of Ghana’s negative equity, which has reportedly increased from GH¢58 billion to GH¢93 billion. He attributed this to the Minister’s policies, noting that the government had contributed GH¢35 billion to this negative equity while only providing GH¢5 billion for recapitalization.
On the Gold Board, Adams referenced a recent confession by the Bank of Ghana Governor that the financing of the board was “inappropriate” and resulted in losses of about $900 million. He criticized the Minister for failing to address this issue in his presentation.
Looking Ahead
Adams concluded by warning that the government has only two years left, asserting that “the people of Ghana will vote you out”. He called for comprehensive measures to genuinely recapitalize the Bank of Ghana, rather than what he termed “gymnastics”.
Ghanamps.com