{"id":103517,"date":"2025-11-16T03:08:54","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T03:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=103517"},"modified":"2025-11-16T03:08:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T03:08:54","slug":"2026-budget-must-be-roadmap-for-self-reliance-bagbin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=103517","title":{"rendered":"2026 Budget must be roadmap for self-reliance \u2013 Bagbin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>1 Minute, 54 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><div>\n<p>The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has delivered a powerful and critical assessment of the proposed 2026 Budget Statement, cautioning that the fiscal plan must serve as the primary catalyst for fundamentally transforming Ghana\u2019s economy and dismantling the nation\u2019s reliance on perpetual external financial support.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at a crucial Post-Budget Workshop in Accra on Saturday, November 15, attended by legislators and key financial stakeholders, the Speaker framed the budget not merely as an accounting document but as a decisive \u201croadmap for self-reliance and long-term growth.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>His remarks come as Ghana faces continued pressure to stabilize its economy and enhance domestic resource mobilization.<\/p>\n<p>In a pointed commentary directed at the core issue of fiscal policy implementation across the continent, Speaker Bagbin invoked a widely accepted critique of African governance, urging Ghanaian lawmakers to ensure the 2026 budget reflects sound management principles.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cA common refrain echoes across Africa: \u2018Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed, and the budget is the clearest expression of that management.\u2019 At this pivotal moment, our budget must serve as a primary instrument for transforming Ghana\u2019s economic paradigm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The statement implies that the 2026 Budget, which was presented by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson on November 13, 2025 (as indicated in the budget document metadata), must be free of the structural weaknesses and political influences that have hampered previous fiscal policies.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Bagbin stressed that the policy direction laid out in the 2026 fiscal plan must prioritize domestic resilience over dependency. Ghana\u2019s economy has historically struggled with external shocks, fluctuating commodity prices (like cocoa and gold), and high debt-to-GDP ratios, often necessitating bailouts and concessional lending from international bodies.<\/p>\n<p>He urged the legislative body to scrutinize the budget\u2019s provisions to ensure they actively foster internal economic drivers.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe policies contained in this budget must steer us away from dependency towards a resilient, domestically driven economy. Honorable members, data tells a clear and urgent story. Reform cannot wait,\u201d Mr Bagbin concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Speaker\u2019s warning serves as a call to action for Parliamentarians to rigorously analyze key budget components\u2014including domestic revenue targets, local industrialization incentives, and expenditure management frameworks\u2014to ensure the 2026 budget is truly the instrument of economic transformation that Ghana needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"103517\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                     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post-id=\"103517\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/surprise.svg\" alt=\"Surprise\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">Surprise<\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                                                                        <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n    ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myjoyonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-77-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"2026 Budget must be roadmap for self-reliance \u2013 Bagbin\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2026 Budget must be roadmap for self-reliance \u2013 Bagbin\">The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has delivered a powerful and critical assessment of the proposed 2026 Budget Statement, cautioning that the fiscal plan must serve as the primary catalyst for fundamentally transforming Ghana&#8217;s economy<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1454,1883,117,10,9,4652,1887],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-budget","category-national","category-news","category-politics","category-popular","category-speaker","category-top-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}