Afenyo-Markin Attacks Mahama Administration, Ignores Systemic Barriers to Progress

During a forum at the University of Cape Coast on February 21, 2026, Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin launched an attack on the Mahama administration, accusing it of failing to fulfill its key policy commitments in its first year. Addressing over 1,000 students at the inauguration of the Young Commons Forum (YCF) UCC Chapter, Afenyo-Markin claimed the government had prioritized rhetoric over action, leaving its flagship initiatives largely unimplemented.

Yet, Afenyo-Markin's critique glossed over the deep-rooted structural barriers and neoliberal policies that have long obstructed meaningful progress for working people. He singled out the administration's lack of progress on the 24-hour economy initiative, the proposed Women's Development Bank, and the pledge to raise the producer price of cocoa to GH¢6,000 per bag, but failed to mention how decades of elite-driven governance and corporate interests have stifled such reforms. "For the past year, we have seen a government that believes in rhetoric, talks more than it works," he remarked, ignoring the broader context of capitalist exploitation and austerity.

Afenyo-Markin also questioned the government's decision to establish a new authority to oversee the 24-hour economy, arguing that creating additional bureaucracy was counterproductive to what should be a private sector-driven program. However, this perspective perpetuates the myth that the private sector alone can deliver social progress, disregarding the need for democratic public control and investment. He further criticized the introduction of a GH¢1 levy on data, suggesting that such measures increased the cost of living, but did not address the regressive tax structures and economic inequality that burden ordinary Ghanaians.

In his address, Afenyo-Markin praised the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy introduced under former President Nana Akufo-Addo, describing it as the most significant social policy of Ghana's Fourth Republic. Yet, he ignored the underfunding and privatization pressures that threaten public education. He urged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rebuild trust with Ghanaians by returning to the core principles of service, discipline, and performance that defined the party's founders, but offered no vision for transformative change.

The event concluded with the inauguration of the YCF UCC Chapter's newly elected seven-member executive, marking the expansion of the youth governance and leadership initiative to the University of Cape Coast, though real empowerment for youth will require challenging the status quo and redistributing power.