Activities in the manufacturing sub-sector, gauged by trends in the collection of direct taxes and private sector workers’ contributions to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme (Tier-1), improved in the first five months of 2025.

According to the July 2025 Monetary Policy Report, total direct taxes collected increased by 34.0% (year-on-year) to GH¢5.503 billion in May 2025.

This was relative to GH¢4.107 billion recorded in a similar period in 2024.

Cumulatively, total direct taxes collected for the first five months of 2025 went up by 47.7% to GH¢32.772 billion, from GH¢22.191 billion for the same period in 2024.

In terms of contributions of the various sub-tax categories, income tax (PAYE and self-employed) accounted for 49.4%%, Corporate tax accounted for 34.5% percent, while “Other Tax Sources” contributed 16.1%.

Total private sector workers’ contribution to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier-1) increased by 10.7% in year-on-year terms to GH¢521.33 million in May 2025, from GH¢470.92 million collected during the corresponding period in 2024.

Cumulatively, for the first five months of 2025, the contribution grew by 24.6% to GH¢2.458 billion, relative to GH¢1.973 billion recorded in the same period in 2024.

Construction Sector Activities

Also, activity in the construction sub-sector, proxied by the volume of cement sales, improved by 8.5% year-on-year in May 2025 to 255,063.29 tonnes. This was up from 235,050.55 tonnes recorded a year ago.

However, on a month-on-month basis, total cement sales dipped by 3.2% in May 2025 compared with the 263,623.46 tonnes recorded in April 2025.

Cumulatively, cement sales for the first five months of 2025 improved by 8.2% to 1,225,395.86 tonnes, from 1,132,654.32 tonnes for the same period of 2024. The relative improvement in total cement sales, year-on-year, was due to an uptick in construction activities during the review period.

Industrial Consumption of Electricity

Meanwhile, industrial consumption of electricity declined by 3.6% in May 2025 to 285.05 gigawatts, as against 295.71 gigawatts recorded for the corresponding period in 2024.

In cumulative terms, electricity consumed by industries for the first five months of 2025 remained largely unchanged at 1,430.96 gigawatts from 1,429.28 gigawatts for the corresponding period a year ago.