Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Committee on Economy and Development, has questioned Ghana’s expenditure priorities, arguing that the government is committing more resources to servicing public debt than to funding several sectors expected to drive economic growth.
In his assessment of the 2027 Budget Statement presented by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson on November 12, Oppong Nkrumah said the government’s projected interest payments of approximately GH¢61 billion exceed the combined allocations to agriculture, energy, the Big Push infrastructure programme, youth development, industry and tourism.
“Government’s interest payment obligations stand at approximately GH¢61 billion. In comparison, the combined allocations to agriculture (GH¢2.9 billion), energy (GH¢3.1 billion), the Big Push (GH¢28 billion), youth development (GH¢3.5 billion), industry (GH¢188 million) and tourism (GH¢186 million) amount to just GH¢37.874 billion,” he stated.
According to his analysis, the six sectors have a combined allocation of GH¢37.874 billion, leaving a difference of GH¢23.126 billion between their funding and the government’s interest payment obligations.
Oppong Nkrumah said the comparison raises fundamental questions about the government’s growth ambitions and the resources being committed to productive sectors.
“How do we expect to accelerate economic growth, create jobs, improve productivity and achieve structural transformation when the cost of servicing public debt continues to exceed the resources allocated to several critical sectors that should drive economic expansion?” he questioned.
He further observed that the GH¢61 billion interest bill exceeds the entire allocations to education and health, which stand at GH¢48 billion and GH¢40.3 billion respectively.
The Ranking Member also questioned whether the fiscal relief expected from Ghana’s debt restructuring had translated into sustainable fiscal space.
He cited the increase in public debt from 44.7 per cent of GDP at the end of 2025 to 47.5 per cent by October 2026, arguing that continued borrowing had renewed pressure on domestic debt-service obligations.
According to him, domestic interest costs had reached approximately GH¢51 billion.
“The underlying concern is that some of the fiscal space created through debt restructuring may have been eroded by subsequent borrowing and its associated interest costs,” he said.
Oppong Nkrumah maintained that debt restructuring alone does not guarantee fiscal sustainability, arguing that the way the resulting relief is managed and deployed is equally important.
He called for greater fiscal discipline, prudent borrowing and improved cash and liquidity management, warning that without these measures, the country risked directing an increasing share of public resources towards debt servicing rather than economic growth.
The concerns come as the government outlines its 2027 spending priorities, including a GH¢30 billion allocation for the first year of its US$10 billion New Economy programme, which is expected to run from 2027 to 2030.
The programme is intended to support investment in agriculture, energy, critical minerals, tourism, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and technology.
