NDC Is A ‘Chobo’ Government –MP Assafuah

The Minority in Parliament on Tuesday fired a fresh salvo at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, with Tafo-Pankrono Member of Parliament (MP), Vincent Ekow Assafuah branding it a “Chobo government.”

He rooted his argument in the fact that the government has been wasteful, mismanaging youth employment initiatives and amateurish handling of the sanitary pads programme.
Speaking during the debate on the 2026 Budget Estimates and Economic Policy, Vincent Assafuah said the government’s budget presentation was filled with inconsistencies, half-truths and questionable claims.

He argued that the Majority’s attempt to blame past administrations for current shortcomings was not only unfair, but also a deliberate distraction from what he called the administration’s failure to manage even the most basic social interventions.
The Tafo-Pankrono MP devoted significant attention to the ongoing sanitary pads controversy. He argued that the programme, initially designed to support vulnerable schoolgirls and reduce menstrual-related absenteeism, had become another example of inflated procurement costs, misallocations and poor tracking.

According to him, the government had turned a simple, dignity-driven initiative into a politically connected supply chain riddled with inefficiency.

He stressed that any government incapable of delivering sanitary pads transparently and consistently had no credible claim to being competent in managing national resources.
He extended his criticism to the government’s handling of youth employment, saying the 2026 budget contained no real pathway for tackling the rising unemployment crisis.

Vincent Assafuah noted that many young people, especially graduates, found themselves stuck in low-income roles or waiting years for job opportunities that never materialised.

He accused the government of offering repetitive promises without matching them with investments in high-impact sectors such as digital skills development, applied engineering training, agriculture value chains and entrepreneurship incubators.

For him, the budget represented a missed opportunity to align national spending with the urgent needs of Ghana’s growing youth population.
Vincent Assafuah also addressed remarks made earlier by Majority MPs – Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Haruna Iddrisu and Kwame Governs Agbodza.

He said some of their claims were either misleading or deliberately crafted to obscure the truth about the government’s performance.

According to him, attempts to justify certain expenditure lines by blaming external pressures ignored the government’s own lapses in planning, monitoring and accountability.

The Tafo-Pankrono MP insisted that the Majority could not continue to create new narratives every time public scrutiny intensified. He argued that the government must demonstrate results, not rhetoric.

In his view, the 2026 budget exposes deep governance gaps that cannot be explained away with speeches.

He maintained that until welfare programmes such as sanitary pad distribution and youth employment schemes are managed with discipline and transparency, the government’s credibility will continue to erode.
The majority, however, rejected his assertions. Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor dismissed the “Chobo government” label as political exaggeration, arguing that the economic challenges the country currently faces are global and not self-inflicted.

He maintained that the sanitary pads programme was ongoing and that delays were a result of procurement restructuring rather than corruption.

Haruna Iddrisu also countered Vincent Assafuah’s claims, insisting that the 2026 budget presents the most comprehensive youth-targeted initiatives the country has seen in recent years.

He argued that the government had expanded job creation partnerships across agriculture, technical training and digital services and said Vincent Assafuah’s criticism overlooked these major initiative.

The Member of Parliament for Adaklu, Kwame Governs Agbodza, who doubles as the Minister for Roads and Highways similarly defended the government, describing the budget as “a stabilising document” designed to protect vulnerable groups and stimulate long-term growth.

He maintained that the sanitary pads controversy was being exaggerated for political effect and insisted that procurement processes were being cleaned up to restore transparency.

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