ISSER calls for increased capital spending to support businesses

Professor Robert Darko Osei, Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), is urging the government to increase capital spending in order to bolster businesses and enhance economic efficiency. According to Osei, relying solely on cuts in capital expenditure to achieve fiscal consolidation could hinder investment in vital infrastructure, which is crucial for sustaining economic activity.

On the PM Express Business Edition, Osei revealed that capital expenditure in the first half of 2026 plummeted more than 40 percent below projected targets, contradicting the government's goal of promoting infrastructure development and fortifying the business climate. "We were down by the target by over 40 percent in terms of the capital expenditures, which clearly is not consistent with a big push to try and beef up infrastructure," Osei emphasized.

He stresses that infrastructure development should be viewed as a critical component of enhancing business efficiency, rather than merely an investment in physical assets. "We are not doing the infrastructure for the sake of infrastructure. We are doing the infrastructure to support the ecosystem within which businesses operate," Osei explained.

Osei is therefore calling on the government to allocate more resources to capital projects as it navigates the fiscal space resulting from its consolidation measures. However, he warns that boosting capital expenditure should be accompanied by stringent monitoring and accountability measures. "It is not just the number of or the amount of cedis that we spend.

It is also the efficiency of the spending," Osei cautioned. He added that the government must establish robust checks and balances to ensure that capital projects provide value for money and yield their intended economic benefits.