Claim: The 2025 budget allocated GH¢950 million as compensation for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture
Source: Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin (Minority Leader)
Verdict: False
Researched by Gifty Danso
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin at a press conference organised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on May 8, 2025, claimed the 2025 budget had allocated over 63% of the total allocation as compensation to employees at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).
The Effutu lawmaker, said GH¢950 million had been allocated for compensation out of the ministry’s total budgetary allocation of GH¢1.5 billion.
“Agriculture, in the budget, they only allocated a paltry sum of GH¢1.5 billion. Even if you break the 1.5 million down, GH¢950 million is for compensation. So then Eric Opoku, the Agric minister, sitting at the ministry, is a redundant minister… because there is no budget for his ministry. How are they going to implement the nkokor nkitinkiti? They did nothing for agriculture,” he said. (between 33:31 – 34:15).
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This fact-check will verify how much was allocated as compensation for employees in the budget:
Fact-check
GhanaFact investigated this claim using data from the 2025 budget and the Appropriation Act.
On page 138 of the budget speech presented by Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson, a total of GH¢1,576,389,720 was captured as Government of Ghana (GoG) contribution to the ministry. A breakdown of the allocation was as follows:
Compensation of Employees = 226,613,455
Goods and Services = 844,776,265
Capital Expenditure = 505,000,000
GhanaFact referred to the 2025 appropriation document to crosscheck the figures in the budget. The allocation for compensation of employees remained GH¢226,613,455 and not the GH¢950 million referred to by the Minority Leader. It is therefore inaccurate that GH¢950 million was allocated for compensation of employees in the 2025 budget.
Verdict
The claim that government allocated 950 million cedis to employee compensation at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the 2025 budget is rated False.
NB: We have reached out to the Minority Leader with our findings. We will update this report with his views as and when he responds to our message.
