Peter Ayinbisa, the Upper East Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), says the 2026 national budget presented to Parliament last week “does not inspire hope” and amounts to a scam on Ghanaians.
Mr. Ayinbisa, reacting to the policy statement read by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, told A1 Radio that the budget fails to address the country’s pressing economic challenges or offer any meaningful path for young people seeking jobs.
“The 2026 budget, to my opinion, was a usual vicious cycle,” he said. “It didn’t inspire confidence, it didn’t engender hope, it didn’t provide anything that would give the youth hope.” According to him, there is “virtually nothing” in the document that young people can point to as an opportunity for economic improvement. “I describe the budget as a hopeless budget, a budget that doesn’t find solutions to the problems we are confronted with,” he added.
Mr. Ayinbisa accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of failing to deliver on promises made ahead of the 2024 elections. He argued that flagship commitments for 2025 have either stalled or disappeared entirely from the 2026 policy document. “What they promised in 2025… a lot of those things have not materialised,” he said. “For example, the Women’s Development Bank — the GH¢51 million that was allocated — nothing is said about it.”
He also questioned the handling of the Ghana Gold Board initiative, claiming that although more than GH¢279 million was allocated in the 2025 budget, “not even a cedi has been expended from it,” yet gold purchases continue. “So where are they getting the money to buy the gold?” he asked. “It means that Bank of Ghana is doling out money to the Gold Board… That is something we need to get some understanding.”
Mr. Ayinbisa further criticised the government’s handling of its “Big Push” initiative, noting that less than GH¢8 billion of the GH¢13 billion budgeted had been released by the third quarter of 2025. He also dismissed the government’s renewed allocations toward a 24-hour economy and major social programs, such as the supply of free sanitary pads, arguing that these do not translate into real employment opportunities. “After you have used the sanitary pad, you come back, you are looking for a job, and the job is not there,” he said.
The NPP spokesperson insisted that the NDC had failed to offer the transformational governance it promised. “They said they were an alternative government that can do better… only for them to come, and we are not seeing any major change,” he said. Comparing the situation to “selling your colour TV to buy a black-and-white TV,” Mr. Ayinbisa accused the government of mismanaging expectations and public trust.
“They have scammed us,” he said. “They just want to tell us they are working simply because the economic indicators are favourable. But what specifically did they do to get to where we are today?”
Source: a1radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Bolgatanga
