The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the Ministry of Finance, accusing the government of engaging in fiscal propaganda and deliberately misleading Ghanaians with inflated budgetary statistics regarding fund releases to the agricultural sector.

In a response on Friday, June 5, the NPP’s Spokesperson on Food and Agriculture, Michael Aidoo, mounted a fierce mathematical challenge against recent claims made by the Deputy Minister for Finance.

Mr Aidoo cautioned the treasury's leadership to treat the public with respect, stating bluntly that the Deputy Minister for Finance must stop throwing figures at Ghanaians as though they cannot do basic arithmetic.

The political row stems from official assertions by the Finance Ministry that the government had released GH¢1.677 billion to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), a figure the state claimed represents a 85 per cent of the ministry’s entire budget for goods, services, and capital expenditure.

However, presenting a granular, line-by-line macroeconomic breakdown, Mr Aidoo stated that when the figures are carefully examined, that claim does not tell the full story.

He argued that the heavily publicised 85 per cent milestone is born out of a narrow, highly selective, and deceptive calculation.

The opposition spokesperson explained that the government’s calculation completely and conveniently excludes significant portions of MoFA’s legally approved national budget.

This includes vital components such as worker compensation, internally generated funds (IGF), international donor support, and foreign-funded project allocations.

Providing his version of the figures, the NPP spokesperson pointed out that against MoFA’s full, Parliament-approved 2026 budget of approximately GH¢3.038 billion, the GH¢1.677 billion actual release represents only about 55.2 per cent, and not the 85 per cent being touted by state communicators.

"So why present 55.2% to Ghanaians as 85%?" Mr Aidoo questioned.

Unlawful Irrigation Funds and Missing Millions

Mr Aidoo noted that while the Deputy Minister stated that GH¢110 million had been released for irrigation infrastructure, the legally approved budget allocation for irrigation stands at exactly GH¢105 million.

"How can the government release more than Parliament approved without a supplementary budget?" the spokesperson queried.

Furthermore, he revealed that the five specific agricultural expenditure items listed by the Finance Ministry fail to mathematically add up to the publicised GH¢1.677 billion total. Instead, the items total approximately GH¢1.652 billion, leaving a massive, unexplained difference of GH¢25.3 million.

"This is precisely why the opposition will continue to demand accountability," Mr Aidoo declared, adding that the minority would use every legislative tool available to track down the missing funds.

Demanding Honest Accounting for Farmers

Mr Aidoo emphasised that the NPP is not opposed to providing massive state support for agriculture.

On the contrary, he maintained that the nation's farmers desperately need fertilisers, certified seeds, functional irrigation infrastructure, mechanisation, robust buffer stock support, and targeted investment in the struggling poultry sector.

However, he insisted that Ghanaians deserve honest accounting, and not clever political packaging. He reminded the government that paper-based fiscal entries do not automatically translate into economic relief for rural food producers.

"A budget release is not the same as actual expenditure," Mr Aidoo lectured. "It is not the same as completed projects. It is not the same as fertiliser reaching farmers. And it is certainly not the same as irrigation infrastructure functioning on the ground."

Four Critical Questions for the Treasury

Concluding his briefing, the NPP Spokesperson stated that agriculture is far too important for propaganda, emphasising that local farmers deserve the absolute truth rather than inflated headlines.

To restore transparency, he demanded that the Finance Ministry immediately return to the public sphere with clear, unadulterated answers to four burning questions:

• Where exactly is the GH¢25.3 million differences located?
• Why was the irrigation infrastructure figure so blatantly overstated?
• Why was a mediocre 55.2% release presented in a manner that creates the false impression of 85%?
• How much of these multi-million cedi allocations has actually been spent, and what specific percentage has actually reached farmers on the ground?