Ato’s Revenue Target Was Deliberately Understated -KON

The Minority in Parliament has accused Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, of deliberately understating the government’s 2026 mid-year revenue target to conceal what it described as a GH¢10 billion revenue shortfall.

Addressing a news conference shortly after the Finance Minister presented the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament, on Thursday, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, alleged that the minister manipulated fiscal figures to create the impression that government had narrowly missed its revenue target.

“The minister deliberately understated it. The half-year revenue target is supposed to be GH¢134 billion, but he presented it as GH¢126 billion, so that when he tells you that the actual revenue is GH¢124 billion, you would think he has only missed it by GH¢2 billion,” Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said.

“But actually, the difference between GH¢134 billion and GH¢124 billion is GH¢10 billion. That is a 7% shortfall in revenue.

“He argued that the Finance Minister departed from the long-standing practice of presenting actual revenue and expenditure against approved targets during a mid-year budget review.

“This is the first time we have had a mid-year review in which the Minister of Finance refuses to mention the revenue target and actual, and the expenditure target and actual. The essence of the mid-year review is to compare target to actual performance.”

The former Information Minister further alleged that government had also suppressed expenditure by about GH¢31 billion in the first half of the year, to manufacture an improved fiscal balance.

According to him, while total half-year expenditure had been programmed at GH¢158 billion, the government released only GH¢127 billion.

“The difference is GH¢31 billion. That is a 20% shortfall in expenditure. This is how they are manufacturing their overall balance. This is how he is able to tell Ghanaians that the deficit has narrowed,” he stated.

He argued that the expenditure cuts had affected flagship government programmes, including the Big Push infrastructure initiative, the One Million Coders Programme, the 24-Hour Economy policy and payments to contractors.

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also challenged the Finance Minister’s assertion that the government had introduced no new taxes since assuming office.

“For the record, they introduced a 2% Growth and Sustainability Levy on mining companies, a 2% Special Import Levy, a 15% VAT on non-life insurance premiums, the Dumsor Levy, the fishing levy and several others. Those are eight taxes this government introduced,” he said.

He added that the government had introduced yet another tax through the removal of tax exemptions on bunkering services.

“When you remove the exemption, you have introduced a tax. But this is the PR setting they use. They hide it in flowery language.”

The Minority also disputed the government’s claim that Ghana’s economy had crossed the US$100 billion mark for the first time.

“They are hoping people have forgotten the figures. We crossed the one trillion cedi mark before. Why would you look Ghanaians in the face and suggest this is happening for the first time?” he questioned.

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam

Former Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, also criticised the government’s fiscal performance, insisting that revenue mobilisation remained weak despite new policy interventions.

“As far as revenue is concerned, the minister has no presence because they are not meeting the targets. In fact, the programmed half-year revenue was reduced by GH¢2 billion in order for the minister to tell Ghanaians that he had met the target. It is misleading the people of Ghana. It is manipulating the data to look good.”

Dr. Amin Adam further accused the government of abandoning key campaign promises, noting that the Finance Minister failed to mention either the 24-Hour Economy or the One Million Coders Programme in his budget presentation.

“Did you hear a single mention of the 24-Hour Economy? Did you hear a single mention of the One Million Coders Programme? No. The young people of Ghana must now know that this government is not going to give them the jobs it promised.”

On the Big Push infrastructure programme, he claimed contractors were abandoning project sites because of delayed payments.

“The minister boasted that they have paid GH¢6.5 million to Big Push contractors. You signed contracts worth GH¢70 million and have paid only GH¢6.5 million. Most contractors have already backed out of their sites because they have not been paid,” he said.

The Minority maintained that the government’s claims of improved fiscal performance were based on manipulated revenue and expenditure figures rather than genuine economic gains, insisting that the administration was failing to deliver on its flagship programmes and economic promises.

 

 

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