Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Shamima Muslim has defended the government’s allocation of GHC 51.3 million for the establishment of the Women’s Development Bank, clarifying that the amount is a seed fund and not the full capital required for a commercial bank.
Speaking on Prime News GH on ABC News GH, she dismissed criticisms from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and sections of the Majority, stating that their concerns were based on misinformation and deliberate attempts to mislead Ghanaians.
Muslim addressed the backlash over the budget allocation, particularly from those who argued that the amount was inadequate, given that the Bank of Ghana requires a minimum of GHC 400 million to establish a fully functional commercial bank.
“We have never promised a commercial bank. A commercial bank would require us to charge some level of interest rates,” she explained.
“We have said insistently that this is a development bank that will charge very minimal interest rates.”
She further clarified that the allocated amount is an initial commitment meant to attract additional funding from development partners.
“When we say seed money, it is a commitment to what we want to start with. It also means we are going to invite development partners that are already doing the work to also come on board,” she stated.
Turning her attention to NPP Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, who had accused the government of failing to prioritize women’s economic empowerment, Muslim dismissed his concerns, arguing that his party’s record disqualified him from making such claims.
“Richard is not a good reference point to use when speaking about commitment. He and his government are the worst to speak on commitment, as they failed to account for monies used for a project they promised to God and Ghanaians,” she fired back.
“He should be the last person to question our (NDC) commitment to the women of Ghana. We could have decided not to touch this program at all, given how poorly they managed the economy. But we have put in seed money,” she emphasized.
Muslim also tackled criticisms regarding the GHC 11.5 billion budget allocation to the Office of the Presidency, which represents an increase from the previous government’s GHC 8.5 billion.
She dismissed claims that the increment was excessive, stating, “It is not novel at all.” She accused the NPP of deliberately distracting the government, the media, and the Ghanaian public to avoid accountability.
“We owe Ghanaians accountability and transparency. We have just heard the budget, and in due time, the appropriation bill will be presented to the same Parliament,” she assured.
She urged citizens not to fall for the opposition’s tactics, saying, “Let us not allow the NPP to deliberately create stories that have no basis for comparison.”
She further called on Ghanaians to focus on the list of institutions that will be included under the Office of Government Machinery when published. “You must now be interested in the list of institutions that will be published which are coming under the office government machinery,” she advised. Reaffirming the government’s commitment to economic relief, Muslim emphasized that the budget was designed to ease the hardship of the majority of citizens. “What we have done this year is to ease the hardship of the majority of the citizens—a budget of the people to ensure that whatever we are able to raise is disbursed fairly,” she stated.
Her remarks come on the heels of the 2025 Budget presentation by Finance Minister Ato Forson on Wednesday, which detailed allocations to several key sectors, including education, health, and governance.
