Afenyo-Markin Tells Mahama: Credit Bawumia, Not Your Administration

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has challenged President John Dramani Mahama to acknowledge that the economic improvements he highlighted in his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) were built on foundations laid by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, not by the current government.

Responding on the floor of Parliament on Friday, 27 February 2026, immediately after the President’s address, Afenyo-Markin argued that the fiscal space the government now enjoys was made possible through painful debt restructuring measures undertaken under former President Nana Akufo-Addo, particularly reforms that directly affected bondholders.

At the centre of his rebuttal was the Gold-for-Reserve programme. Afenyo-Markin said that while the President had spoken proudly of gains recorded through the policy, the government had deliberately omitted the fact that former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia originated and championed it. “Give to Bawumia what belongs to Bawumia,” he told Parliament, adding that the same Bawumia his opponents once ridiculed was the intellectual architect of the very policy now delivering results. He also credited Bawumia with the earlier Gold-for-Oil and Gold-for-Forex programmes, as well as the strategic gold accumulation by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), all of which he said provided the buffers underpinning today’s currency stability.

Afenyo-Markin pointed to 2024 figures to make his case, noting that Ghana’s gross domestic product (GDP) had crossed one trillion cedis for the first time that year, with economic growth at 5.7% and more than 30 tonnes of gold accumulated. “The groundwork was done; the plane had already taken off,” he said, insisting that the current administration had inherited a functioning framework rather than created one.

Beyond the credit dispute, the Effutu Member of Parliament (MP) delivered a broader critique of one year of National Democratic Congress (NDC) governance. He accused the government of governing through slogans while failing to act on three of its flagship commitments: the 24-hour economy, the Women’s Development Bank, and the promise to raise the producer price of cocoa. He pointed out that cocoa farmgate prices had instead been reduced, and questioned the absence of the Minister for Food and Agriculture in addressing farmer grievances.

Afenyo-Markin also raised concerns about soaring electricity tariffs, youth unemployment worsened by what he described as mass dismissals authorised through the Office of the Chief of Staff, and the continued devastation caused by illegal small-scale mining, known as galamsey.

The Minority arrived at Parliament in a coordinated display of dissent, dressed entirely in black with kente sashes bearing the Twi message “Cocoa Akuafo Yayɛ Mɔbɔ Dodo,” translating to “Cocoa farmers have become so pitiful,” a protest directed at the government’s handling of the cocoa sector.

President Mahama, in his address, highlighted a triple sovereign credit rating upgrade from Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard and Poor’s (S&P) as evidence of restored economic credibility, and cited inflation falling from 23.5% at the end of 2024 to 3.8% by January 2026 as proof of his administration’s fiscal discipline.