On the floor of Parliament, Member of Parliament for Atiwa East Hon. Abena Osei-Asare delivered a sharp critique of the government’s assumed lean 2025 budget.
In her statement, she accused the government of failing to uphold its promise of fiscal prudence and cutting waste. Instead, she pointed out what she described as reckless spending and an unjustifiable increase in salaries at the Office of the President. She said;
“Mr. Speaker, they [Mahama administration] presented to the people of Ghana that this government is a government that is going to rationalize expenditure and cut waste. But Mr. Speaker, they should tell us, where in this budget have they rationalized expenditure? Where in this budget have they cut waste?”
Hon. Abena Osei-Asare Member of Parliament for Atiwa East
Rather than reducing expenditure, she argued, the government had instead increased the expenditure budget by a staggering GHS 43.5 billion.
“Mr. Speaker, they are hoping that at the end of appropriation, we will give them the permission to spend GHS 250 billion when this year [2025] is not an election year. So, there are certain expenditures that they are not going to incur. [NPP] in an election year did an appropriation of GHS 250 billion. So, when you come and you tell Ghanaians that you are rationalizing expenditure and you are cutting waste, what are you doing?”
Hon. Abena Osei-Asare Member of Parliament for Atiwa East
“Mr. Speaker, to be honest with you, I was hoping that the NDC would take advantage of the good rule that Ghanaians gave to them by voting massively for them to show us some real cuts that will promote fiscal discipline and endear economic growth. But what have we seen? Spending spree.’’
Hon. Abena Osei-Asare Member of Parliament for Atiwa East
Unjustified Increase in Salaries at the Presidency
One of the most contentious issues raised by Hon. Osei-Asare was the increase in salaries at the Office of the President.
“We see GHS 2.7 billion increase in the Office of the President’s salaries alone. And then they [Mahama administration] want to explain it away with the fact that it is the Ministry of Information that they added. There are 76 directors and staff that they added from the Ministry of Information and that has resulted in that huge GHS 2.7 billion allocation to them.”
Hon. Abena Osei-Asare Member of Parliament for Atiwa East
Hon. Osei-Asare further scrutinized the budget for the Office of Government Machinery (OGM), questioning why its allocation remained so high even after the removal of several agencies from its oversight.
She reminded Parliament that in 2024, agencies such as the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), the Internal Audit Agency, and the Scholarship Secretariat were all under OGM. However, with these agencies no longer under its purview, she found it alarming that the budget allocation had not been reduced.
“So, you ask yourself, all these ministries have been scrapped, all agencies have been taken. How come you still have GHS 2.7 billion under Office of Government Machinery?”
Hon. Abena Osei-Asare Member of Parliament for Atiwa East
Another major concern highlighted by Hon. Osei-Asare was the budget allocation for National Security. She vehemently stated;
“Mr. Speaker, they also explained that they added the National Security Ministry. Mr. Speaker, in 2024, the compensation for National Security was GHS 1.28 billion. So assuming that you add your 10% to it, give or take, let’s say, it comes to 1.45 billion, and you add the existing GHS 326 billion to it, you still have a GHS 1 billion to explain to Ghanaians.”
“Mr. Speaker, is this the lean government that the President talked about? I’ll heed the optics. I will reduce the number of ministers. But in the real deal, I will fatten the salaries of my officials and make sure they live well at the expense of other Ghanaians.”
Hon. Abena Osei-Asare Member of Parliament for Atiwa East
Hon. Abena Osei-Asare’s statement on the floor of Parliament was an indictment of the government’s fiscal management in the 2025 budget.
Her speech called for greater transparency and accountability in the government’s expenditure, urging Parliament to scrutinize the budget more critically before approving it.
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