Former Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), Professor Peter Quartey, has urged the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, to use the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review to outline concrete measures to improve domestic revenue mobilisation following weaker-than-expected tax collections in the first quarter of the year.

Speaking on JoyNews' AM Show ahead of the presentation of the budget review in Parliament today, Prof. Quartey acknowledged that Ghana's macroeconomic indicators had shown encouraging signs of stability but stressed that the next phase of economic management must focus on generating stronger revenue to sustain growth and finance government programmes.

According to him, recent improvements in inflation, exchange rate stability and fiscal performance have created a favourable foundation for the economy.

"Our economy remains relatively stable in terms of its fiscal performance. We've seen inflation at a reasonable level. We've seen depreciation at a very reasonable level and fiscal deficits also at a reasonable level."

He, however, cautioned that stabilisation alone was insufficient to address the country's economic challenges, particularly unemployment.

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"So it's good we have some stability. But I must say that when you stabilise up to some point, you need to take off. Just like an aircraft, you taxi on the runway and you take off."

"There are a lot of people who don't have jobs, [we] have jobless growth. We are growing, but we are not creating the needed jobs."

Prof. Quartey said data published by the Ministry of Finance for the first quarter of 2026 pointed to prudent expenditure management but also exposed significant weaknesses in revenue performance.

He explained that although the government spent less than budgeted, tax and overall revenue collections fell below target, creating a challenge that requires urgent policy attention.

"Our target for revenue and expenditure – our expenditure target was 4.9% of GDP, but we hit 3.5%. We were very quite steep with our stabilisation. We spent less than what was required."

He noted that total revenue recorded a 4.5 per cent shortfall, while tax revenue declined by five per cent during the period.

"But our revenue numbers also dipped, a shortfall of 4.5% of total revenue, and the tax revenue also declined by 5.0%. So what do I expect in the media review? I would like to see how we're able to show up on revenue numbers because there has been a dip in tax revenue as well as in total revenue."

The economist further warned that sustained expenditure restraint, while helpful for fiscal consolidation, could negatively affect the operations of ministries, departments and agencies if not balanced with improved revenue generation.

He said reduced government spending was already affecting service delivery in some sectors.

"We've also seen a steep decline in our expenditure. I mean, if you are not spending, it means the ministry, department, and agencies don't have the resources to fund their activities. And that is what we've seen with the flood scheme, waste that is not being collected properly, and many, many other areas that require attention."

The Finance Minister is expected to present the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament today, outlining the performance of the economy during the first half of the fiscal year, providing updated fiscal projections and announcing measures to sustain macroeconomic stability while supporting growth and employment.