Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin has accused the NDC government of failing to deliver on the 24-Hour Economy, the Women’s Development Bank and the fight against illegal mining.
He made the charge at the Leaders’ press briefing in Parliament on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as the House prepared to resume from recess. He cited a Ghana Statistical Service report that puts youth unemployment at 32.4 percent among 15 to 24-year-olds.
He also argued that the bank has yet to disburse its first loan, and he vowed to summon the Lands and Natural Resources Minister over a reported Gold Board statement on unlicensed mining.
“Yet the question remains: where are the jobs? In this meeting, we are going to demand answer, where is the one job, three shift ? The government must tell us which institution is implementing one job three shift?”
Minority Leader and MP for Effutu Constituency, Hon Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
Youth Unemployment Raises the Jobs Question
Hon. Afenyo-Markin pointed to the latest Ghana Statistical Service figures and pressed the government to name the institution responsible for delivering its job targets. A government that makes a promise must live by it, he argued, and the Minority will study the 2027 budget to see whether it carries a firm commitment to job targets and public sector jobs.
The programme’s defenders point to progress. The 24-Hour Economy secretariat’s director has reported work on jobs projects after one year, and officials say the policy aims to make Ghana an industrial powerhouse by 2035.
The Minority leader claimed that the government cancelled the One District, One Factory incentives for the private sector. He added that no incentives exist for raw materials, machinery or energy supply, and he asked, “So what is this government up to?” These are his claims, and the material available does not include a government response.
Women’s Development Bank Yet to Lend
Hon. Afenyo-Markin acknowledged that the government now says it has registered the bank. He argued that it is still “yet to disburse its first 1,000 Cedis to the trader in Makola or at Kotokoraba market.”
The government has promoted the bank for months. It put GH¢401 million into the bank for 2026, and President John Dramani Mahama said in March that the bank was at the final stage of rollout. A deputy finance minister later reported that it was nearing full rollout.
The Minority leader noted that the administration has entered its second year and accused it of deferring a promise it made. “Where is the Women Development Bank?” he asked, and he promised that the Minority is watching closely.
Galamsey Rules Under Question
Hon. Afenyo-Markin turned to illegal mining. Organised labour announced on May Day last year that galamsey had worsened since the NDC took office, he recalled, and other institutions have added their voices since.
He cited a reported statement from the Gold Board’s chief executive that miners can work without a licence and regularise later. The Minority wants to summon the Lands and Natural Resources Minister to explain it.
Act 703 is clear, he argued: “no licence, no mining.” He insisted that “register and regularise must never become an amnesty,” and he demanded that the government come clean if it is not complicit. “Our rivers and forests are not partisan.”
He offered a bipartisan partnership on the issue. The government points to its crackdown, in which the President reported the seizure of more than 8,200 mining items. Meanwhile, a report called galamsey a health burden and not an economic development tool, and another linked it to a quadrupling of kidney disease cases amid water pollution.
Family Values Bill Pledge
The Minority leader also raised the outstanding family values bill. When the NDC was in opposition, he recalled, it insisted that the bill, as it stood, should be signed by former President Nana Akufo-Addo, and President Mahama said in opposition that he would sign it.
Hon Afenyo-Markin wants two things. Citizens’ rights must be protected, and the original bill that the NDC promised and passed in opposition must be the same bill President Mahama signs. He noted that its sponsors come from both sides of the House, and he rejected any amendments carved out or delayed to water it down.
“Every member must vote on the actual texts,” he stated. He also argued that rights should be protected by precise drafting that follows the 1992 Constitution, and that blanket exemptions dilute a bill and do not safeguard anyone.
The Minority will test each of these commitments once the House resumes, starting with the 2027 budget.
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