Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has questioned what he describes as a glaring omission in Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson’s 2026 budget, pointing to the ongoing controversy surrounding alleged monthly constituency transfers from the Presidency.
Speaking after the budget presentation, he argued that the document fails to address key accountability concerns, especially claims made earlier in the year by Mustapha Gbande, the Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Director of Operations at the Presidency.
Afenyo-Markin referenced Gbande’s assertion that “every month the presidency gives GHS20,000 to each constituency,” adding that the total would amount to GHS66 million. Yet, he said, the Finance Minister “has not accounted for this” in either the previous year’s budget or the new submission.
“The minister attempted to provide some figures, he gave a tall list of allocations, what he failed to add [is that] in the 2025 budget that he brought to this house, we had director of operations at the Jubilee House who publicly said every month the presidency gives GHS20,000 to each constituency,” he explained.
He pressed further, asking: “Where did they get that money from?” and insisting that Parliament expected clarity from the minister on the source, purpose and distribution of the funds. Afenyo-Markin maintained that such a significant claim could not simply be glossed over, adding that “how that money is given, time will tell.”
