Poor execution, unrealistic targets and data inconsistencies - IFS' assessment of Ghana’s 2026 Mid-Year Budget

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has assessed Ghana's 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review, warning that poor execution could hurt economic growth. According to the IFS, non-oil real GDP growth slowed to 6.3 per cent in Q1 2026 from 7.1 per cent in Q4 2025.

The IFS found that total revenue and grants stood at GH¢124.78 billion in the first half of 2026, falling short of the budgeted GH¢126.14 billion by GH¢1.37 billion, or 1.1 per cent. Tax revenue amounted to GH¢103.77 billion, compared with a target of GH¢105.26 billion, while non-tax revenue stood at GH¢12.27 billion against a target of GH¢14.90 billion.

The shortfall in non-tax revenue was largely driven by lower-than-expected dividend, interest and profits from oil, which fell short of its target by GH¢1.43 billion, or 37.1 per cent, according to the Ghanaian Times. Foreign grants also fell short of the target, recording GH¢1.05 billion against GH¢1.07 billion.

Brief written by urgent.news from 3News, Ghanaian Times — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.