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Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has expressed hope that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will continue some of the laudable policies of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to ensure continuity in governance.
He said continuing with some of the brilliant policies initiated by the previous administration would help the country progress on a positive development path.
The Minority Leader expressed the hope at a Leaders’ media briefing in Parliament ahead of the commencement of the First Meeting of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament yesterday.
The event was used to highlight to the press the agenda that would be considered during the current eight-week meeting.
Mr Afenyo-Markin criticised the NDC government for cancelling some of the positive flagship programmes of the NPP, such as the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) policy, without alternative policy programmes for the private sector.
In its place, he said there was no alternative policy programme for the private sector and the Ministry of Trade has not announced any major private sector initiative to create economic growth.
“They promised public sector reforms, but so far the minister responsible for Public Sector Reform has not made any major reforms as if the ministry is non-existent,’ he said.
The Minority Leader also accused the Majority of deliberately omitting the anti-LGBTQ bill from consideration in the current meeting, despite bipartisan public support and the NDC's campaign stance.
He expressed concern that the Majority was using the bill to win elections and was now finding ways to slow down the process.
He said the Majority claims that they were ensuring the bill was properly handled remained a potential flashpoint.
High unemployment
The NPP MP for Effutu also said the Minority also believed that the government's approach to social intervention and taxation had been incoherent.
He recalled that by the end of 2025, certain programmes were struggling, a reason the NDC condemned the NPP government officials.
“But we have not seen any major shifts in terms of government after being in office for one year, apart from the Gold Board that they have established, which is helping to stabilise the cedi because now they are trying to centralise the purchase of gold and all.”
“But in other sectors like agriculture, there has not been any major investment, looking at their 2026 budget,” he said.
On the government’s flagship programme, the 24-Hour Economy Policy, Mr Afenyo-Markin said much had not been seen from the impact of the policy.
“So, we pray that we see a comprehensive policy direction that would lead to real-time economic growth where jobs will be created,” he said.
He decried how Ghanaians had seen many more of the youths who had lost their jobs as a result of the Chief of Staff's directive to the various ministries and agencies to lay them off.
“They said they were going to deal with those who were recruited after the 2024 election but what we saw was that people who were even recruited as far back as 2017 were all sacked,” he said.
To seek answer to that act, he said the Minority Caucus’s motion to get the matter investigated by Parliament was still hanging in the balance.
“We pray that we are able to get Mr Speaker's audience to fully hear us so that a body is set up to look into that matter,” he said.
The Minority Leader also expressed concern about the rising cost of living and inflation, stating that many families were not feeling the real relief despite the government's claims of a drop in inflation.
He cited the increase in electricity tariffs and the introduction of the Dumsor Levy, which he said was burdening Ghanaians.
“Because if you take electricity tariffs, government so far has increased electricity tariffs up to 27 per cent which is huge cost to the ordinary Ghanaian.”
“And whereas they took away the E-levy, they introduced the Dumsor Levy, meaning that every litre of petrol you buy, you pay One Ghana Cedi and so more Ghanaians have been burdened more than the E-levy that they came to repeal,” he said.
