A heated confrontation erupted in Parliament on Tuesday during the consideration of the 2026 budget estimates for the Ministry of Transport, as Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin alleged a GH¢9.4 million spending scandal, accusing the ministry of breaching the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act by spending far more than what Parliament approved for capital expenditure in 2025.
He cited Table 3, Page 6 of the Committee’s report, which he claimed showed releases and expenditures exceeding the originally approved GH¢83 million appropriation for capital expenditure.
“Somebody must go to jail. This House approved GH¢83 million. Releases were GH¢92 million and actual expenditure is GH¢92 million. Who authorized the extra GH¢9.4 million? This is an offence under the PFM Act,” he charged.
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The Minority leader demanded a full parliamentary inquiry, insisting the committee report, signed by its NDC chairperson, confirmed what Afenyo-Markin described as ‘scandal number one of this reset government.’
The Minority Leader compared the current budget to the 2024 budget he said the NDC caucus had earlier criticized, arguing that several phrases had been copied and pasted.
He also attacked the government’s branding as a reset administration. “What a reset government. They said their governance would be ‘pepeepe’ – smooth, flawless. But here we are with overspending in year one.”
He added that the government frequently referred NPP appointees to investigative bodies over minor issues, but now faced a textbook case of financial irregularity.
“Be careful what you wish for. The way you judged the NPP is the same standard you will be judged by,” he stressed.
Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, however, rejected the accusations, arguing that the Minority Leader had misread the budget tables and ignored key provisions of the PFM Act.
“The minority leader is conjuring a non-existent offence in some esoteric fashion. There is no over-expenditure. In fact, the Ministry under-spent by GH¢280 million,” he told the House.
Dafeamekpor cited Section 32 of the PFM Act (Act 921), which permits virement – reallocation of funds – between expenditure lines, including shifting funds from recurrent expenditure to capital expenditure.
“The Act allows the Minister to vary funds upon request by the spending officer. There is no breach here. Everything was done within the law,” he said urged the media and the public to ignore false claims of scandal.
“The ministry acted within appropriation. They are actually under-expended,” he added.
Transport Minister Hon. Joseph Bukari Nikpe also defended his ministry, confirming that they sought and received authorization from the Minister of Finance for a virement – specifically to enable the Ghana Maritime Authority to service a loan contracted four years earlier.
“We wrote formally to the Minister of Finance to vary our CAPEX to meet an urgent loan servicing obligation. We did not exceed our approved budget. Everything was done legally,” he stated.
The Minister stressed that the ministry respects Parliament and adheres strictly to approved allocations: “We will never violate what this House approves. We stay within our budget envelope, and the records show that clearly.”