Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Shamima Muslim has refuted criticisms from the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, regarding the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) commitment to governance and economic relief measures.
Speaking on Prime News GH on ABC News GH, she dismissed Ahiagbah’s accusations as baseless, asserting that the NPP’s track record in office disqualifies them from questioning the current administration’s efforts. Her response comes in the wake of criticisms surrounding the GHC 11.5 billion allocation to the Office of the Presidency in the 2025 Budget, an increase from the previous administration’s GHC 8.5 billion.
Muslim defended the allocation, stating, “It is not novel at all,” and accused the opposition of deliberately creating distractions to avoid accountability.
“The minority is deliberate about distracting the government, the media, and Ghanaians just so they can avoid facing the real issues,” she argued. Reaffirming the NDC government’s commitment to transparency, she assured, “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 urged citizens not to be misled by the NPP’s attempt to create unnecessary controversy over the budget, emphasizing that a list of institutions under the Office of Government Machinery would soon be published to clarify the allocation.
Turning to the contentious GHC 51.3 million allocation for the Women’s Development Bank, Muslim pushed back against criticisms that the amount was insufficient, as some lawmakers, including members of the majority, had argued that at least GHC 400 million was needed to establish a full-fledged bank.
She clarified that the allocation was never intended to establish a commercial bank but rather a development bank with minimal interest rates.
“We have never promised a commercial bank. A commercial bank would require us to charge some level of interest rates. This is a development bank, and it will charge very minimal interest,” she explained. Taking direct aim at Ahiagbah, she stated, “He should be the last person to question our (NDC) commitment to the women of Ghana. Because we could have decided not to touch that program at all, considering how poorly they managed the economy. But we have put in seed money.”
Muslim further elaborated that the allocation was a starting point and that the government would seek support from development partners already involved in similar initiatives.
“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.
Reaffirming the government’s intent to ensure fairness in resource distribution, she said, “Whatever little we are able to raise, we will distribute it fairly across every sector, so that the youth will benefit, the girls can go to school, and access free sanitary pads.”
Her remarks follow the presentation of the 2025 Budget by Finance Minister Ato Forson on Wednesday, where key allocations were made to various sectors, including education, health, and governance.
