Ghana’s government spending fell short of its programmed target by GH¢28.86 billion in the first seven months of 2026, with lower-than-expected outturns recorded across major expenditure categories, including employee compensation, debt servicing and capital investment.
The July 2026 Monetary Policy Report showed that total government expenditure and net lending amounted to GH¢147.077 billion between January and July, against a target of approximately GH¢175.932 billion.
The shortfall represents 16.4% of planned expenditure, highlighting the gap between the government’s budgeted spending commitments and actual expenditure during the period.
Despite the overall underspending, some categories recorded substantial year-on-year increases, particularly capital expenditure and spending on goods and services.
Capital expenditure rose by 157.9% compared with the corresponding period in 2025, reaching GH¢24.228 billion. However, the amount remained 25% below the programmed target, indicating that actual spending on infrastructure and other development projects had yet to meet expectations.
Expenditure on goods and services also increased by 63.4% year-on-year to GH¢5.482 billion, although it fell short of the GH¢7.897 billion target.
Employee compensation takes GH¢50.5bn
Compensation of government employees remained one of the largest expenditure items, amounting to GH¢50.553 billion during the seven-month period.
The figure was approximately 4.5% below the target of GH¢52.943 billion but represented a 12.6% increase compared with the same period in 2025.
The report further indicated that employee compensation accounted for 35.2% of domestic revenue mobilised during the period, underscoring the significant share of government revenue devoted to public sector wages and salaries.
Interest payments decline by 12.3%
Government interest payments amounted to GH¢25.171 billion, below the programmed target of GH¢34.117 billion.
The amount also represented a 12.3% decline from the GH¢28.686 billion recorded during the corresponding period last year.
According to the report, the reduction was mainly driven by lower domestic interest payments and the front-loading of some Eurobond payments at the end of 2025.
Some payments originally programmed for 2026 were therefore settled earlier, shifting the timing of the expenditure outside the period under review.
Grants to government units fall
Transfers and grants to other government units totalled GH¢30.611 billion, compared with the programmed GH¢35.866 billion.
The outturn was also 1.6% lower than the amount recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Meanwhile, other expenditure amounted to GH¢9.283 billion, approximately 13.4% below its programmed target.
The report cited GH¢8,107 billion as the corresponding figure for other expenditure in 2025, but the reported figure appears inconsistent with the surrounding expenditure data and requires clarification.
Spending trends remain mixed
The expenditure figures show contrasting developments in government spending during the first seven months of 2026.
While employee compensation and goods and services expenditure increased year-on-year, capital expenditure recorded the sharpest reported growth. Interest payments and grants to other government units, on the other hand, declined.
Overall, the GH¢28.86 billion gap between programmed and actual expenditure reflects lower-than-targeted spending across several major categories.
The report provides an overview of government expenditure execution during the period but does not, in the figures presented, establish whether the shortfall resulted from deliberate spending restraint, delayed disbursements or implementation challenges.
