Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called on the government to accelerate the release of funds allocated to climate action, gender-responsive programmes and environmental protection to ensure that budget commitments translate into tangible benefits for vulnerable communities.

Kasa Initiative Ghana and ABANTU for Development, convening partners of the Kasa Initiative’s Gender and Climate Platform, said increased allocations in the 2026 Budget were commendable but would have limited impact if funds were not released on time and properly accounted for.

The organisations made the call in a joint statement following their review of the 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review presented to Parliament in July.

They said the review showed significant gaps between allocations and actual releases for several programmes, raising concerns about the pace at which resources were reaching beneficiaries and frontline institutions.

The organisations noted that the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme had received GHS485 million of its GHS1.1 billion allocation for 2026 by June, representing about 44 per cent.

They said although LEAP had completed its 100th payment cycle and reached approximately 1.5 million individuals, with 226,930 households moved above the extreme poverty threshold following reassessment, the level of funding released remained below half of the annual allocation.

Similarly, the Ghana School Feeding Programme, which currently supports more than 4.5 million pupils and over 34,000 caterers and cooks, had received GHS877 million of its GH¢1.98 billion allocation by June, also representing about 44 per cent.

The organisations expressed particular concern about funding for the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), saying only GH¢16 million, representing about 11 per cent of its GH¢150 million 2026 allocation, had been released by June.

They said NAIMOS had intensified enforcement operations, recording 200 intelligence-led operations, 207 arrests and the seizure or destruction of 168 excavators and 2,800 Chanfang platforms.

“Given the state of Ghana’s forests and water bodies, the pace of funding to frontline environmental enforcement agencies is inadequate,” the organisations said.

They also raised concerns over the Government’s response to the June 2026 floods in Greater Accra.

According to them, although Parliament approved GHS350 million from the Contingency Fund for emergency flood response, the money could not be accessed because the Fund was subject to a court garnishee order.

This resulted in the Government reallocating GHS226 million from the existing budget of the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources, while a permanent solution to flooding had been deferred to the 2027 Budget.

The organisations further called for greater transparency in budget reporting, citing the reporting of GHS915 million released for goods and services under the Ministry of Education as a combined figure for sanitary pads and the Capitation Grant.

They said the absence of a disaggregated figure for the Free Sanitary Pads Programme made it difficult for citizens and civil society organisations to track how much had actually been spent on the initiative.

However, they welcomed the implementation of the first phase of the Women and Youth in Aquaculture Programme, which is operating in 80 districts and benefiting 4,000 people organised into 80 cooperative groups.

The organisations said Ghana’s economic performance provided some fiscal space for Government to improve the release of funds for climate and gender-related programmes.

They cited real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 and a primary balance surplus on both a cash and commitment basis as indicators of the economy’s improved fiscal position.

They, therefore, urged the Government to prioritise investment in women farmers, fisherfolk, youth and climate-vulnerable communities, particularly in northern Ghana, coastal areas, forest-fringe communities, and flood-prone urban settlements.

They also called for the institutionalisation of Climate and Gender Budget Tagging across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as the publication of simplified annual reports showing allocations, releases, expenditure, and results.

The organisations recommended the establishment of a national monitoring framework to track climate and gender outcomes rather than expenditure alone.

They further urged Government to strengthen participatory budget monitoring through civil society engagement, Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys, and district-level accountability mechanisms.

They called for the restoration and strengthening of ecosystem restoration programmes, including Tree for Life, with clear targets and reporting requirements.

The statement also urged Government to accelerate the release of funds to NAIMOS and other frontline environmental enforcement agencies during the second half of 2026.

On emergency funding, the organisations called for the Contingency Fund and other disaster-response resources to be protected from legal encumbrances to enable Government to respond promptly to emergencies.

Kasa Initiative Ghana and ABANTU for Development said timely and transparent disbursement of budgeted resources was critical to ensuring that public spending delivered measurable outcomes for women, youth, and vulnerable communities.

They reaffirmed their commitment, together with members of the Gender and Climate Platform, to monitoring public expenditure, generating evidence, and engaging policymakers throughout the 2027 Budget cycle.