Mr Morgan Ayawine, the General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICCU) says the 2026 budget statement gives hope for the country’s future.
“The budget is forward-looking even though some described it as overambitious,” the General Secretary said in an interview on his views about the budget statement read on Thursday, November 13, 2025 in Parliament.
Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Finance Minister, presenting the budget statement announced the allocation of GH₵5.1 billion to support cocoa farmers in the 2025/26 season, including mass spraying and free fertiliser distribution.
The Minister highlighted that the cocoa sector was showing early signs of recovery, despite softer global prices, noting that output rose from 530,783 metric tonnes in 2023/24 to 603,840 metric tonnes by the end of 2024/25, driven in part by targeted anti-smuggling measures.
To achieve projected production of 650,000 metric tonnes for 2025/26, the government has budgeted GH₵2.4 billion for CODAPEC mass spraying at no cost to farmers and GH₵2.7 billion for free fertiliser distribution.
Mr Ayawine in response, said, “That was a very good presentation from the Finance Minister and lauded the contributions of farmers and all value chains in the industry, he said.
Mr Ayawine underscored the importance of the cocoa industry for national development, saying, “Cocoa is Ghana, and Ghana is cocoa.”
He called on the government to take steps to sustain the industry by addressing the challenges, especially with its debts.
Mr Ayawine appealed to the government to immediately inject capital into the operations of COCOBOD to bounce back to its feet as the leading supplier of premium cocoa beans.
Touching on the financial sector, Mr Ayawine welcomed the decision of the government to fully recapitalise National Investment Bank.
The move, he said, would ease the pressure from the staff and stakeholders, adding that “the financial sector is a driver of the economy.”
On the textiles and garments industry, the Finance Minister said the sector was expected to contribute 20,000 jobs under the budget.
The General Secretary lauded government plans to set up trade companies to add to the existing ones.
Mr Ayawine said the textiles and garments sector used to have about 40 companies but had been reduced to about three or four, and even these existing factories are not functioning well, with thousands of workers at home.
“We are appealing to the government to prioritise revamping the existing companies and make them more viable before, adding to the companies,” he said.
He said the Union would continue to applaud the government in initiating measures that would lead to job employment.
The textiles and garments industry and others would help the government to drive the 24-hour economy and reposition its agenda of resetting the country.
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