In a heated parliamentary debate on the 2025 budget, former Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, has described the 2025 budget as a “chop chop” allocation, meant for discretionary spending rather than addressing the real needs of Ghanaians.
However, the Majority Leader vehemently disagreed, insisting that the budget serves the country’s developmental needs.
Taking his turn on the 2025 budget debate, Dominic Nitiwul said “…If you really know what general government services are, that is under the control of the Minister for Finance. It’s really under his discretion. It’s ‘chop chop’. So this is a budget that is padded to chop, nothing more nothing less.”
Contributing to the debate, the Member of Parliament for Bimbila constituency voiced out his discontent with the budgetary allocations. He began his critique by highlighting inconsistencies in the budget, particularly in the allocations for key ministries.
“Mr. Speaker, let me say that this government will be in office for the next four years. And so, it is in our interest as a state, or as people, to make sure that they give the people of Ghana a good life, because if they rule badly we will all suffer. If they succeed, we will all enjoy that success,” he stated.
Nitiwul emphasised that members of the opposition were not merely criticising for the sake of it, but were holding the government accountable for the promises made to Ghanaians.
“If there is anybody chasing you, it is your promises you made to the people of Ghana. So don’t turn your back and be looking at the NPP. When you turn your back, you should be looking at the promises you made to the people of Ghana,” he added.
Turning to page 142 of the budget document, the Member of Parliament for Bimbila expressed concern about the allocation of funds for the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment.
“Mr. Speaker, how will the government explain to the people of Ghana that on page 142, the Ministry of Labour, Jobs and Employment does not have any capital expenditure (CAPEX) allocation? It is zero.”
He further lamented the lack of CAPEX allocation for the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation.
“The Minister came here to talk about how he would build and rehabilitate stadiums, including Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Accra Sports Stadium and others. But in the budget there is no CAPEX for these projects,” he stressed.
According to him, this meant that ministries responsible for job creation and sports development were left without the needed resources to execute their mandates.
Nitiwul’s biggest criticism was directed at the allocation of GHS 3.7 billion to general government services, which he described as an avenue for discretionary spending.
“Mr. Speaker, the worst part is on page 144. The Ministry of Finance has allocated GHS 3.7 billion to what they call general government services. None of this is tied to a single project apart from what I will read out. This is under the control of the Minister for Finance and it is really under his discretion. It is ‘chop chop’,” he alleged.
He questioned why ministries such as Youth and Sports were starved of funds, while judgment debts had CAPEX allocations.
“Mr. Speaker, judgment debt has been allocated GHS 661 million CAPEX. What are you going to build under judgment debt? Judgment debt is not a capital project,” he argued.
He further pointed out a GHS 200 million allocation for land compensation under CAPEX, questioning why compensation payments would be categorised as capital expenditure.
“CAPEX for land compensation? To pay for land compensation, you are using CAPEX? What are you going to build? ” he queried.
The former Minister for Defence maintained that certain allocations should be reconsidered and reallocated to projects that directly benefit Ghanaians.
He called on Parliament to insist that the Minister of Finance provides a breakdown of the GHS 3.7 billion allocated to general government services.
“I want you to be able to call the Minister of Finance, if you really care about Ghana, to come and state point by point what this 3.7 billion will be used for.
“Otherwise, please, let us all together put the budget aside until he does that. Otherwise, it’s all ‘chop chop’,” he insisted.
Majority Leader Disagrees
In response, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, disagreed with Mr. Nitiwul’s characterisation of the budget, offering explanations for the allocations in question.
“Mr. Speaker, nowhere in this budget has the state said that it was going to engage in commercial farming, nowhere.
“Also, the government has a ruling against it, relating to GPGC and we have decided to purchase the plant and pay them off.
“So, we have to make a provision for the judgment debt. It is CAPEX because we are purchasing a plant, which is capital expenditure,” he explained.
On the land compensation issue, the Majority Leader defended the allocation, stating that the government’s agricultural expansion plan required acquiring large tracts of land.
“Mr. Speaker, Ghana imports $2 billion worth of food annually. If we want to develop large-scale commercial agriculture, we need large land holdings and that requires compensation, which is CAPEX,” he argued.
He further called on Parliament to focus on the bigger picture rather than just picking allocations. “Mr. Speaker, the content of speeches is regulated in our standard orders. If we are going to develop, we must prioritise what will drive the economy forward. That is exactly what this budget seeks to do,” he emphasized.
Mahama Ayariga countered, asserting that the government was committed to transparency and that the allocations were necessary to fulfil critical obligations.
The post 2025 Budget Is For Chop Chop–Nitiwul …But Mahama Ayariga Disagrees appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.
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