Minority demands costed plan for US$10bn 'New Economy'

The Minority in Parliament has demanded a costed, published financing plan for the government's proposed US$10 billion "New Economy" programme before the 2027 Budget is read on Thursday.

The caucus spoke through Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, Karaga MP and a former Finance Minister, who addressed the media on its behalf on Tuesday, 10 November, according to MyJoyOnline, Adom News and Citi Newsroom.

Dr Amin Adam said the government had yet to show that it mobilised the resources promised for the 24-Hour Economy. He recalled that the earlier programme was presented as requiring US$4 billion, with the government expected to provide between US$300 million and US$400 million in seed capital. He said only GH¢110 million was allocated to the initiative in the 2026 Budget. That GH¢110 million figure is his account of the allocation; it has not been independently confirmed in the coverage reviewed.

He also said the US$5.5 billion in Joint Development Agreements being cited as progress should not be treated as funds already raised, MyJoyOnline, Adom News and Citi Newsroom reported.

The Minority further pointed to what Dr Amin Adam described as a 39.3 per cent shortfall in capital expenditure against target in the first half of 2026, and a later GH¢5 billion cut in capital spending, according to Adom News and MyJoyOnline. It questioned how the government could take on another capital-intensive programme while missing existing expenditure commitments.

The 24-Hour Economy was expected to create 1.7 million jobs by the end of 2028, Citi Newsroom and MyJoyOnline reported. In a separate MyJoyOnline report of the same briefing, Dr Amin Adam said: "We demand a verifiable register of 24-Hour Economy jobs that can be checked against payroll and SSNIT contribution records."

He also called for clarity on the different financing figures put out by the government, including the investment outlined in the 2027 Fiscal Strategy Document and the President's proposal of US$2 billion a year. The caucus wants the Finance Minister to distinguish between budget-funded spending, private investment, public-private partnerships, concessional financing and commercial borrowing, with clear timelines and funding commitments.

"Until these questions are answered with a costed, published financing plan, the New Economy is a slogan, not a policy," Dr Amin Adam said, as quoted by Adom News and MyJoyOnline.

For balance, the Ministry of Finance's 2027 Fiscal Strategy Document puts the New Economy at targeted investment equivalent to 1.5 per cent of GDP a year for four years, "amounting to approximately US$10 billion". It says that would be financed by additional revenue equal to 0.5 per cent of GDP and by reducing the primary surplus target from 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent of GDP. 3News has reported that Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says the programme will receive at least US$13 billion with no new loans, while President John Dramani Mahama has said the plan will invest more than US$9 billion between 2027 and 2030. The totals differ.

The 2027 Budget is due to be presented to Parliament on Thursday, 12 November, under the theme "New Economy".