Oppong Nkrumah demands account of GH¢650bn parliament approved for economic programmes before the additional $10 billion

Ofoase-Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has challenged the government to account for GH¢650 billion he says Parliament approved through two budgets for its economic programmes before seeking additional funding for the proposed $10 billion “new economy” initiative.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, said the government had yet to provide a satisfactory account of the jobs and other results generated by existing initiatives, including the 24-hour economy, poultry development and the one million coders programme.

He argued that the government must demonstrate how it had utilised the resources already approved for its programmes before introducing another major economic initiative.

“They haven’t even accounted for how much jobs they have created under the 24-hour economy properly so-called,” he said in a self-recorded video, adding that similar concerns remained over the other programmes.

The former Information Minister also questioned the number of women who had benefited from credit facilities under the proposed Women’s Development Bank.

He maintained that the government should prioritise fulfilling its original campaign promises and securing parliamentary approval for the programmes it had already presented.

“We are of the view that number one, the original programme that they campaigned on, which they were voted for, which they’ve brought to Parliament, which is yet to be adopted by Parliament, they should focus and have it adopted,” he said.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said a detailed assessment of the existing programmes was necessary to establish whether they had delivered the intended benefits before the government pursued further economic interventions.

“There needs to be a more serious and proper accounting of it. It is when that is done and Ghanaians are satisfied that you can then talk about potentially a new economic programme,” he said.

He insisted that the government must be held accountable for its existing commitments and demonstrate tangible results before proceeding with discussions on the proposed $10 billion new economy initiative.