News:
November 10, 2026
Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has raised doubts over the financing of the government’s proposed new 24-Hour Economy, warning that the programme lacks a credible funding source.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, ahead of Finance Minister Dr. Ato Forson’s budget presentation on Thursday, November 12, Dr. Amin Adam said Ghanaians should demand answers on how the proposed $10 billion programme will be financed.
“If the government could not mobilise $10 billion for the original 24-hour economy, how does it convince Ghanaians that it can for the new one?” he asked.
The Minority Finance Committee ranking member pointed to government’s capital expenditure performance, noting that in the first half of 2026, capital spending fell 39.3 percent short of target. He added that at mid-year, another GH¢5 billion was cut from the capital budget and allocated to the Gold Board for gold purchases.
“The new economy is by definition a new capital programme of factories, irrigation and infrastructure. But a government that cannot fund a capital budget it already has cannot credibly tell me that it can secure $10 billion — $2 billion a year — of new capital investment from our own money,” Dr. Amin Adam said.
He also questioned the government’s reliance on fiscal space granted by the International Monetary Fund, saying it does not constitute new funding.
“Government wants to rely on one percentage point of GDP the IMF has allowed it to use as its fiscal space by lowering the primary balance on commitment basis from 1.5 percent to 0.5 percent of GDP. But this is not money coming from anywhere; it is revenue that has to be generated and collected from Ghanaians,” he said.
Dr. Amin Adam argued that the government’s revenue performance gave little confidence that the new programme would be funded.
“Given the performance of government last year and this year, we should have doubt whether this new economy will not remain like the slogan of the 24-hour economy. The evidence shows that this government has been underperforming in its flagship programmes because of poor revenue performance, and we do not expect anything new under the new programme,” he said.
He further cited unpaid obligations to teachers and cocoa farmers as evidence of the government’s funding constraints, asking where the money for the new 24-hour economy would come from when teachers’ promotion arrears and allowances remain unpaid and cocoa farmers are owed more than GH¢10 billion for beans already delivered.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com