Parliament on Friday approved the Appropriation Bill for the 2026 financial year, authorizing the Government to withdraw a total of GH¢357,105,639,080 from the Consolidated Fund and other public funds to finance its operations for the year ending December 31, 2026.
The approval complies with Article 179(2) of the 1992 Constitution, which mandates that expenditure estimates of public offices be incorporated into an Appropriation Bill to permit the release of funds from the Consolidated Fund and other public sources to meet government spending.
An Appropriation Bill is a proposed law that outlines the specific amounts of public funds to be allocated to government programmes, services and activities within a fiscal year.
The passage of the Bill brought to a close six weeks of parliamentary debate and scrutiny of expenditure estimates, following the presentation of the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy by the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, on November 13, 2025.
Contributing to the debate, Dr Forson said the Mahama-led administration had exercised prudent economic management, including strategic debt management without borrowing from the Bank of Ghana.
He highlighted key allocations under the 2026 budget, including GH¢13.1 billion for goods and services, and GH¢63.3 billion for statutory funds such as the National Health Insurance Fund, District Assemblies Common Fund, Youth Employment Agency and the Minerals Development Fund.
An amount of GH¢3.4 billion was also allocated to social intervention programmes, including the capitation grant, the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme and the School Feeding Programme.
In addition, capital expenditure was increased from GH¢30 billion to GH¢57 billion, while GH¢29.8 billion was earmarked for the settlement of arrears owed to road contractors.
However, the Minority Leader, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, criticised the Government for failing to implement the three-job shift policy, arguing that its absence had exacerbated youth unemployment and illegal small-scale mining activities.
Similarly, Dr Abdul Kabiru Tiah Mahama, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Walewale, faulted the Government for allocating only GH¢3 billion to social interventions, while budgeting about GH¢90 billion for the Office of Government Machinery.
The approval of the Appropriation Bill enables Parliament to exercise its constitutional oversight role by ensuring that government spending aligns with national development priorities and stated fiscal policies.
