Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has expressed his disapproval of the government for not submitting essential documents regarding its significant flagship programmes to Parliament for examination and approval.
During a press conference prior to the third meeting of Parliament, he remarked that numerous government initiatives, such as the 24-hour economy initiative and the Feed Ghana programme, have not yet been subjected to any form of parliamentary oversight, despite being slated for implementation.
“The 24-hour economy program, the 1 million codes program, the agro agri-food economic transformation program, the program to export labour as announced by the President, and the national apprenticeship program, to name a few, have not undergone parliamentary scrutiny,” he asserted.
Afenyo-Markin emphasized that the executive branch of government is required to submit such programme documents to Parliament prior to execution, as they depend on funds sanctioned by the legislature. He contended that the absence of transparency hampers effective oversight.
“We cannot claim that there is oversight when the fundamental program documents are not presented to Parliament. It is thus crucial that the government demonstrates commitment and provides these documents to Parliament to enable proper oversight to begin,” he underscored.
He also referenced the April 2025 Feed Ghana programme, which was anticipated to modernize agriculture, generate employment, and establish agro-industries, along with the September 2025 Big Push infrastructure initiative — a $10 billion plan aimed at improving national connectivity — as instances of stalled programmes.
He pointed out that despite their announcement, none of these initiatives have been supported by formal documents for legislative review. He further criticized the government’s management of the highly publicized 24-hour economy initiative, noting that expectations were raised during the President’s State of the Nation Address but were not addressed in the 2025 budget.
“The Finance Minister, in delivering the 2025 budget, made no mention of the 24-hour economic programme,” Afenyo-Markin concluded.
