LETTER TO THE CITIZENS OF UNCOMMON SENSE
Dear Citizens of Uncommon Sense,
Once again, our annual national ritual has taken place. Not Akwasidae. Not Hogbetsotso. I refer to that grand festival where our Honourables wear their best suits, sharpen their tongues, and perform economic jazz like seasoned palm-wine guitarists. Yes — The Great Parliamentary Budget Drama.
This year, the Finance Minister entered the chamber holding the 2026 Budget as if it were freshly baked communion bread. The title alone — “Resetting for Growth, Jobs & Economic Transformation” — was heavy enough to require its own seatbelt. In this Republic, the longer a budget title is, the shorter its lifespan after reading.
The moment the Minister cleared his throat, Parliament transformed into a theatre. Majority MPs adjusted their ties with the confidence of ushers at a VIP wedding. Minority MPs sharpened their eyebrows until you could use them to slice cassava. The Speaker closed his eyes briefly, perhaps whispering, “Oh Lord, if today You must take someone, please take the microphones first.”
Citizens, the Majority rose faster than your data bundles get finished. These were people spiritually prepared for praise. They clapped with techniques—two claps and a nod, three claps and a gentle smile, one clap mixed with “Hear! Hear!” For them, this budget was not a document; it was an economic deliverance service.
One MP proclaimed, “This is the staircase to Ghana’s prosperity!” Another shouted, “Inflation is tamed!” Someone added, “Growth is reset!” And a patriotic optimist declared, “We are becoming Singapore!”
The way they were testifying, I almost believed the budget contained free petrol, a bag of rice, and one month’s supply of encouragement for every household.
Then, dear citizens, the Minority rose.
Slowly. Like a lion whose nap has been disrespected.
These were not people who came to clap. Their faces carried the same look your father gives when school fees are due but your report card reads like a police caution statement. Their leader sighed — not an ordinary sigh, but the heavy sigh of a nation carrying tomatoes priced like foreign exchange.
“Honourable Speaker…” he began. “This budget…”
He paused long enough for the Majority to start sweating.
“…is a decorated empty bowl.”
Chaos.
The Majority murmured and rolled their eyes like teenagers. Another Minority MP, wearing the face of a disappointed mathematics master, said, “This is poetry. Beautiful, yes — but still poetry.” One added, “A reset without a remote. A promise without a plan. A slogan wearing agbada.” At that point, even the Speaker’s glasses felt pressure.
The Majority shouted, “You don’t love Ghana!”
The Minority replied, “We love Ghana. We just don’t love fiction.”
My dear citizens, this is why Parliament deserves Netflix rights.
Soon, they entered their favourite national sport: the Point of Order Olympics.
“Mr Speaker, he is misleading the House!”
“Mr Speaker, the budget is misleading the country!”
Withdraw! Don’t withdraw! Withdraw something — anything!
At a point, the Speaker stared into the distance like a headmaster regretting his life choices.
Meanwhile, outside Parliament, the real economy was running its own commentary.
At Kaneshie, tomatoes were still behaving like they attended a private school. Bread was rising as if it had joined a charismatic church. Transport fares were galloping like horses on Easter Monday.
A market woman shouted, “Budget? My brother, bring your money first before you talk big English.”
At Suame, a mechanic whispered, “If this budget is resetting anything, let it reset the price of spare parts.”
In a trotro, one man said, “They say inflation has dropped,” and the other replied, “Yes, it dropped — but it didn’t land here.”
Citizens, when Parliament debates graphs, the streets debate survival.
Economists then appeared on TV holding graphs resembling ECG bills. Political commentators explained fiscal policy using proverbs. WhatsApp groups flooded with “leaked budget documents” typed by the same people who think GDP is a football club.
By midday, the country had seventeen interpretations of the same document, eleven “corrected explanations,” and three conspiracy theories — one involving dwarfs and another involving Dubai.
But let me tell you the truth as your humble Correspondent-General:
A Ghanaian budget does not succeed until kenkey drops in price,
until onions calm down,
and until ECG bills stop misbehaving like toddlers in a supermarket.
When trotro drivers reduce fares without threats, that is economic transformation.
Until then, we remain in the Republic of Uncommon Sense —
where the Majority sees gold,
the Minority sees ghosts,
and the average citizen sees the same market prices staring back with disrespect.
Yes, the budget will pass. It always does.
But will it land? That, dear citizens, is the true question.
As the elders say:
“You don’t judge a farmer by the size of his cutlass, but by the size of his harvest.”
And so we wait — patiently, skeptically, and with calculators in hand — for the harvest.
Yours in patriotic bewilderment,
Jimmy Aglah
Republic of Uncommon Sense
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