{"id":117112,"date":"2026-02-27T14:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117112"},"modified":"2026-02-27T14:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:04:08","slug":"sona-2026-afenyo-markin-slams-govt-performance-over-electricity-cocoa-and-galamsey-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117112","title":{"rendered":"SONA 2026: Afenyo-Markin slams gov\u2019t performance over electricity, cocoa, and galamsey challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 3 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has delivered a scathing critique of the government immediately following President John Dramani Mahama\u2019s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA).<\/p>\n

Mr Afenyo-Markin argued that after one year in office, the administration continues to rely on slogans rather than implementing tangible actions.<\/p>\n

Addressing the House, he highlighted pressing national concerns, including soaring electricity tariffs, youth unemployment, the welfare of cocoa farmers, illegal mining, and alleged irregularities in government contracts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the President failed to tell the people of Ghana is that one year into government, he is still acting with slogans and no concrete actions. Electricity tariffs have skyrocketed, and Ghanaians cannot afford electricity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Minority Leader accused the government of dismissing thousands of Ghanaian youth through letters issued by the Chief of Staff. He also warned of a potential scandal in the recruitment of security personnel, promising that the minority will demand full accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we speak, there is a scandal looming in security services recruitment. We know who brought that company to the ministry. Karma has a way, and we, the minority, will pursue the person and ensure full disclosure,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Mr Afenyo-Markin also criticised the government\u2019s treatment of cocoa farmers, noting reductions in producer prices and the absence of Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku. He questioned the administration\u2019s emphasis on macroeconomic indicators while neglecting the welfare of farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr Speaker, the cocoa farmers \u2014 their producer price has been reduced, and Eric Opoku cannot be found. They don\u2019t care about cocoa farmers, yet they are here talking about inflation and macroeconomics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Illegal small-scale mining, or galamsey, was another focus of his address. The Minority Leader highlighted the continuing hardships faced by ordinary Ghanaians and called for urgent action.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr Speaker, galamsey continues to cause suffering for Ghanaians, and we expect concrete measures to be taken,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging some economic gains mentioned by the President, Mr Afenyo-Markin attributed these successes to previous policy initiatives, particularly the Gold-for-Reserve policy, urging the government to recognise the role of former Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur elders say give credit where credit is due. Mr President spoke of some gains today; those gains come from the Gold-for-Reserve policy. What the government failed to tell Ghanaians is that Bawumia is the brain behind this policy. I urge the government: give Bawumia what belongs to Bawumia,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, delivered a critique of the government immediately after President John Dramani Mahama\u2019s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA).<\/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":[173,2582,196,1917,1883,117,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alexander-afenyo-markin","category-cocoa","category-galamsey","category-hp-news-4","category-national","category-news","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117112","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=117112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}