The Majority Leader Mahama Ayarigah jabbed the opposition NPP in his concluding remarks on The State Of The Nation Address (SONA) delivered by president john Mahama few days ago.
Describing the Address as “the nation’s journey from economic despair to revival”, his presentation attracted loud, cheers and applauses of ‘yea, yea’ from his side, the Majority was also given a standing ovation by his side at the end of his debate.
According to the Leader, the SONA acknowledged the hardships Ghana faced—debt default, inflation, and financial collapse—and celebrates the reforms and disciplined efforts that have stabilized the economy, improved the currency, and restored confidence.
The leader emphasizes tangible achievements like improved sectors (agriculture, banking, infrastructure), reduced inflation, tax relief for citizens, and renewed focus on accountability and fighting corruption.
Below is the full statement:
Closing Debate on SONA: “THE CHRONICLE OF THE RESURRECTION”
Speaker: The Majority Leader
Setting: Parliament of Ghana
Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, Fellow Ghanaians,
We gather here today not merely to fulfill a formal constitutional ritual under Article 67, but to bear witness to a true national resurrection. For three long years, our beloved Ghana traversed a valley shrouded in economic shadows—a wilderness where devaluation’s dust choked our hopes, and the heat of debt cracked the very ground beneath our feet. We were a nation that had forgotten how to dream, consumed by the struggle to survive. Our resilience was tested, our spirit stretched to its limits, and yet, through it all, the very marrow of our national character was laid bare.
But as the wise proverb teaches us—and as our President so poignantly reminded this House—“However long the night, the dawn will break.”
Mr. Speaker, look out the windows of this august House. That dawn is no longer a distant promise; it is a rising sun warming the hearths of our people—from Hamile to Half Assini. The State of our Nation is no longer a story of mere survival; it is a chronicle of revival. It is the story of a people who refused to let the fire of the Black Star go out.
Let us be honest about the ruins we inherited. On December 19, 2022, Ghana fell. We declared a debt default—an ominous day when our national word was no longer our bond. We inherited a shackle of GHS 80 billion in energy debt, with inflation at 54.1%. Our reserves were depleted; our credit was crushed; our youth saw only walls of uncertainty.
But, Mr. Speaker, a house is not judged by how it stands in the sun, but by how it holds during the storm.
When the winds of default threatened to rip the roof off our republic, some whispered that Ghana was finished—suggesting we were a failed experiment.
They were wrong.
Under the Resetting Ghana Agenda, we did not merely patch the leaks; we reinforced the foundation. We chose the difficult path of structural integrity over political convenience. We performed a fiscal bypass on a dying economy, and today, Mr. Speaker, the patient is not just walking—it is running.
In a remarkable display of fiscal agility, our Cedi has appreciated by 40.7% against the US Dollar and 30.9% against the Pound. We settled a US$709 million Eurobond ahead of schedule—not because we had excess, but because we exercised discipline.
Today, the global arbiters—Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P—are singing a chorus of approval, with a triple credit upgrade.
This is not a trophy for the cabinet; it is a certificate of strength for every Ghanaian who kept faith when the nights were cold.
Mr. Speaker, my friends on the other side may dismiss these as mere “statistics.”
To them, I say: numbers are the language of the state, but food is the language of the home.
General inflation has fallen to 3.8%. Food inflation is tamed at 4.9%.
When petrol prices drop from GHS 15.20 to GHS 9.99, it is a pay rise for every taxi driver, every trotro driver, every trader.
We abolished nuisance taxes—the E-Levy, Betting Tax, Emission Tax—returning GHS 6 billion to the pockets of our people.
Nowhere is this revival more evident than in our financial sector, once the graveyard of dreams.
There were days when the vault was empty, and the future seemed mortgaged; days when banking institutions collapsed, threatening to eclipse our hopes.
Today, the 2025 Monetary Policy Report signals a recovery bordering on the miraculous.
Our total assets have surged to GHS 447 billion—a fortress, a testament to a system purged of weakness and fortified with integrity.
We have moved from the brink of systemic collapse to a summit of liquidity—ensuring that the savings of every Ghanaian are not gambles but guarantees.
Mr. Speaker, the heart of our nation beats in our cocoa farms.
Decades ago, Ghanaian farmers watched others enjoy the wealth generated by their toil, while they bore the sun’s heat and the weight of poverty.
Today, we have shattered that glass ceiling.
Through institutionalized Cocoa Sector Reforms, we have ensured that the surge in global cocoa prices directly benefits the farmer—moving the producer price to heights never seen before.
When the world pays more for chocolate, the farmer in Sefwi, Enchi, and Tepa finally sees that value reflected in his pocket.
This is more than commerce; this is the restoration of dignity—transforming Ghana from a raw toil exporter to a master of industrial destiny, investing in local processing, and making “Made in Ghana” a mark of excellence worldwide.
Mr. Speaker, let us speak candidly.
The call for accountability is not vendetta, but constitutional hygiene.
When regimes exit office, leaving behind depleted reserves, spiraling debt, and unchecked expenditures, silence becomes complicity.
Ignoring past misdeeds risks embedding corruption as a low-risk, high-reward venture.
Through forensic audits and legal recovery, we send a clear message: the value of the taxpayer’s money is not a rhetorical flourish but a binding moral and legal obligation.
This is about restoring the soul of our bureaucracy.
Financial accountability is not just about numbers; it’s about justice—settling the accounts of the Republic and ensuring that the “institutional resolve” is backed by the weight of integrity.
We seek not to settle scores but to settle the accounts—so that the future Ghana we build is not just a change of faces, but a change in character.
The Accra Reset is our continental manifesto.
With the passage of the 24-Hour Economy Authority Bill, we unlock productivity, turning night into opportunity.
Critics ask: “Why a 24-hour economy?”
Because poverty does not sleep at 8:00 PM. Hunger does not take a break.
We are breaking the 8-to-5 shackles, turning the “dead of night” into the “bread of life,” backed by GHS 110 million to make this a reality.
From the Accra-Kumasi Express way to the Volivo Bridge, Ghana is once again a construction site—not just building roads but arteries for commerce.
With 27,000 new jobs in garment factories, we stitch the fabric of a new middle class.
Through education, with the No-Fees-Stress initiative shielding over 152,698 first-year students, we are rebalancing the scales of justice.
In health, we launched “MahamaCares”, with GHS 2.9 billion for chronic diseases—ending the despair of choosing between university fees and dialysis.
We seized sovereignty from donors and placed it into the hands of our doctors.
Ending the “no-bed” syndrome, because hospital beds are a right, not a privilege.
Our “Feed Ghana” programme is the pillar of sovereignty.
We are procuring tractors and harvesters, raising 10 million birds to slash our $400 million poultry import bill.
We refuse to beg for what we can grow.
And let it be known: the era of sole-sourced contracts is dead. The Value for Money Office Bill is our sword against waste.
Mr. Speaker, as I take my seat, let us remember—the Republic belongs to every nurse in Ho, teacher in Gambaga, fisherman in Moree, and youth in the Dawa Industrial Zone.
Nations endure not because they are spared trials, but because their people refuse to surrender.
We were tested by the furnace of debt—and like the fine gold of our soil, we have emerged purer and stronger.
Let history record that in 2026, we did more than build prosperity; we restored the soul of a nation.
We chose action over apathy, accountability over impunity, the farmer over the financier.
The dawn is no longer breaking, Mr. Speaker. The morning is here—a morning of work, justice, and hope.
And that morning, bright, bold, and beautiful, belongs to the people of Ghana!
Thank you, Mr. Speaker!
