Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh has criticised what he describes as a deepening financial paralysis gripping key state institutions, with the Electoral Commission (EC) among the worst hit.

Addressing Parliament in a charged session on Thursday, the Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP revealed that the EC is still owed over GH¢200 million from its operations during the last local government elections.

This debt, he said, is jeopardising electoral integrity and undermining institutional stability.

“We talk about democracy, we talk about reforms, but how do we expect the Electoral Commission to function when it is starved of over GH¢200 million?” he questioned on the floor of the House.

He said the EC was not alone. Statutory payments to the District Assemblies, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), and even Parliament itself have also stalled. Parliament, he noted, is still waiting on its second-quarter disbursement.

“These are not luxuries — they are legal obligations. If we can’t meet the basic requirements of governance, then the so-called ‘reset agenda’ is just empty talk,” he charged.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh called for the Finance Minister, or at least his Deputy, to immediately appear before Parliament’s Committee of the Whole to provide a clear update.

His questions were pointed: “What’s the plan? When will payments be made? Is there a roadmap, or are we just drifting?”

He warned that the current silence and delays are slowly bleeding Ghana’s institutions dry and eroding the legitimacy of the very structures that hold the country together.

“We are watching Assemblies crumble, health insurance choke, and our own House left in limbo — this is not just bad governance, it is institutional suffocation.”

On the international front, Mr Annoh-Dompreh disclosed that Ghana’s representation at the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is also under threat due to delays in finalising the country’s delegation — a situation he says must not be allowed to repeat.

The MP also turned his attention to issues within Parliament itself, noting that some Members are still assigned to only one committee, in direct violation of Standing Orders.

“The report to fix this is ready. Let’s act. Parliament cannot preach reform and practice dysfunction,” he urged.

On the matter of illegal mining, he decried the lack of budgetary support for the fight against galamsey, saying all the government does is make promises with no funding to back them.

“If this is really a national emergency, then why is it unfunded?” he asked.

He wrapped up his submission by criticising the failed rollout of Parliament’s electronic document system — a high-cost digitisation project that he said has delivered next to nothing after six months.

“Millions have been spent. Where are the results? Where is the accountability?”

Despite the criticism, Frank Annoh-Dompreh praised Ministers like those of Roads and Education for their regular appearances and commitment.

But he warned that ministerial absenteeism was derailing national progress.

“The people sent us here to represent them. Let us not fail them,” he concluded.