The Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, has described the 2026 Budget Statement as the clearest demonstration yet of the Mahama administration’s commitment to restoring growth, creating jobs, and reversing what he termed the “fiscal recklessness and criminal management” inherited from the previous government.
Concluding the debate on the Budget in Parliament, Hon. Ayariga argued that the document reflected prudent and disciplined economic administration, which he said was already yielding visible results across key sectors, particularly energy.
Hon. Ayariga opened his submission with a firm declaration that the government’s policies were “resetting Ghana for growth, jobs and transformation.” He insisted that the 2026 Budget was a projection of responsible economic stewardship, contrasting sharply with what he described as years of opaque expenditure and disorder under the former New Patriotic Party administration.
“The economic turnaround we see today is because we replaced the era of fiscal recklessness and criminal management of the economy by the NPP with prudent management,” he stated. According to him, Finance Minister Dr Ato Forson represents the new posture of transparency, asserting that the Minister “does not fathom opaque spending of public funds.”
Energy Sector Turnaround
Focusing heavily on the energy sector, Hon. Ayariga delivered a sharp critique of the NPP’s record, beginning with Ghana’s loss under the Millennium Challenge Compact II. He accused the former administration of mismanaging the programme, which he said cost the country US$190 million.
He further referenced the concession agreement involving Power Distribution Services (PDS), arguing that the arrangement was riddled with irregularities. “They gave the distribution sector to a certain PDS, which went and forged records in providing a payment guarantee,” he said, adding that this episode epitomised the “record of the NPP in the management of the energy sector.”
Hon. Ayariga also highlighted findings from the Electricity Company of Ghana’s recent container hold-up investigation, stating that negligence within the organisation had resulted in multiple financial infractions.
He claimed that demurrage charges at the ports exceeded GH¢909 million. Additionally, he pointed to procurement irregularities, including the award of clearing contracts totalling GH¢159 million, and a GH¢127.6 million contract, which he noted went to a company without the appropriate customs house agent registration.
According to him, the disparity between planned and actual procurement in 2024 was alarming, rising from GH¢1.3 billion to GH¢6.8 billion. “A deviation of negative 487 percent,” he emphasised, describing the spike as a testament to the scale of mismanagement.
The Majority Leader further noted that by the end of December 2024, ECG owed power producers over GH¢60 billion, while the wider energy sector owed over US$1.46 billion, or more than GH¢20.8 billion.
He argued that stabilising power supply and implementing the government’s 24-hour economy would require undoing years of disorder. “You stand here, and you ask us, when is the 24-hour economy starting?” he asked members of the Minority. “It will start when we have mended the mess at ECG and we have created a 24-hour energy sector.”
Impressive Achievements
Transitioning to what he termed the impressive achievements of the current administration, Hon. Ayariga said the government’s approach to the energy sector had been more strategic and transparent.
He confirmed that all power purchase agreements had been suspended and that non-strategic state-owned facilities had been migrated to prepaid metering systems. Additionally, the government was reintroducing private sector participation in power distribution “without a PDS candour.”
A cornerstone of the new reforms, he said, was the development of a second gas processing plant intended to reduce the country’s reliance on expensive liquid fuels. Hon. Ayariga noted that the project would save the country US$350 million annually and up to US$481 million in foreign exchange each year. The initiative, he said, was also expected to create 1,500 direct and indirect jobs upon completion.
He outlined the government’s renegotiation of Independent Power Producer (IPP) payments as another achievement, revealing that the annual cost had been reduced from US$1.4 billion to US$1.1 billion, saving the country US$250 million. These payments were now being spread over four years to ease fiscal pressure.
To demonstrate the impact of these interventions, Hon. Ayariga cited the reliability of electricity supply, stating that he observed a striking improvement during a recent night flight into Accra.
“Everywhere was lighted,” he said, insisting that the experience differed sharply from what occurred under the NPP. He also noted that the government had paid US$300 million to IPPs this year and was on track to pay US$345 million in 2026.
The Majority Leader dedicated a significant portion of his remarks to praising the acting Managing Director of ECG, Ing. Julius Kpekpena, describing him as evidence of capable Ghanaian leadership.
He celebrated what he called a “record-breaking revenue collection” of GH¢1.7 billion in June 2025 and outlined other achievements, including a 15 percent reduction in administrative expenses from the previous year, a renegotiation of the Hubtel contract that cut monthly costs by GH¢13.2 million, and the termination of 202 underperforming contracts that he said saved Ghana US$227 million.
Inclusive Turnaround
Hon. Ayariga emphasised that the turnaround at ECG reflected broader improvements across state institutions. “All the agencies, all the state-owned companies have similar impressive records,” he declared, noting strong performances at the ports and other sectors.
He concluded by accusing the previous administration of wasteful contracts and poor public expenditure management, citing the US$100 million Lightwave Solutions deal for hospital records as an example. He argued that such decisions drained funds that could have supported critical projects like Agenda 111.
He also accused the former administration of mismanaging the GETFund through the Daakye Bond arrangement. “We came and we’ve uncapped GETFund,” he said, adding that a more robust flow of resources was now supporting education.
He insisted that while the NPP claimed credit for flagship social programmes like Free SHS and the National Health Insurance Scheme, the current government had proven to be “better implementers.”
