The Minority in Parliament has declared that it will oppose any request for additional funding when Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson presents the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, First Deputy Minority Whip and MP for Tolon, Habib Iddrisu, said the government should use the budget review to account for its campaign promises, clear arrears owed to contractors and provide updates on key flagship programmes instead of seeking fresh financial approvals.
He insisted that Parliament had already approved substantial funding for the government and warned that the Minority would not support any new funding request.
“If the Finance Minister comes here to this House tomorrow, we will be observing and monitoring every line of his statement or his budget, and we beg him; he should not come and ask for any money because we will not give him any money because of the money that we have given,” he said.
The Minority argued that the budget review should clearly explain how the government intends to pay outstanding debts owed to local contractors.
“What Ghanaians are expecting of him in the statement is to state clearly and pay Ghanaian contractors. Ghanaian contractors have not been paid; they are suffering, there is no money in the system,” Mr Iddrisu stated.
The caucus also called on the government to provide progress reports on flagship initiatives, including the Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme, the proposed 24-hour economy policy, the Women’s Development Bank and the “One, Three, Three” initiative.
According to the Minority, many of the programmes remain unfulfilled.
“The jobs that they promised Ghanaian youth, including NDC youth, is only on paper. The 24-hour economy, ‘Yamutu’. The women’s bank, ‘Yamutu’. 133, ‘Yamutu’. Paying contractors, ‘Yamutu’,” he said.
The Minority further argued that the government should focus on the prudent use of resources already approved by Parliament, noting that lawmakers had recently approved a loan facility of about US$1 billion.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson is expected to present the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, providing an update on the economy’s performance during the first half of the fiscal year and outlining revised fiscal and economic projections for the remainder of the year.
