The Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of engaging in wasteful and inflated spending in the procurement of sanitary pads for students.
He described the administration as a sanitary pad chobo government’ and called on journalists to help scrutinize discrepancies in the 2025 and 2026 budget figures.
Addressing the media after contributing to the budget debate on Tuesday, during which he raised concerns over government expenditure on sanitary pads, the MP argued that the 2026 budget shows major inconsistencies between the funds allocated for sanitary pads and the quantity reportedly distributed.
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Hon. Assafuah explained that, according to the 2025 Budget, the government allocated GH¢292 million to purchase 1.3 million packs of sanitary pads.
“A simple calculation will give you GH¢225 per pad if all GH¢292 million was used,” he noted.
He added that when the government later accounted for deliveries in the 2026 Budget, it reported distributing 6.6 million packs of sanitary pads.
“If you divide GH¢292 million by 6.6 million packs, you get GH¢44 per pack. Almost GH¢45. So which one should Ghanaians believe?” he questioned.
The Old Tafo MP also questioned why the government would be spending GH¢44 per pack when its own communications claimed that sanitary pad prices had fallen to GH¢15 per pack due to effective economic management.
“Let us even grant them that — that a pack is GH¢15. How then do you allocate GH¢292 million and supply 6.6 million packs? What that means is that they bought each pack for GH¢44. This is what I raised on the floor,” he said.
He further stressed that a pack is not a single pad, countering claims by the Education Minister during a parliamentary exchange.
Hon. Assafuah insisted that the figures reveal the government’s inefficiency and vindicate earlier warnings by the NPP about potential wastefulness under the NDC.
“They told Ghanaians the NPP was corrupt. Today, what are we seeing? This is pure waste. How else can I describe this level of profligacy apart from calling it a chobo government?” he asked.