Economic Analyst Raises Concern Over Poor Policy Implementation Despite Fiscal Discipline
By: Solomon Nartey Tetteh
Economic Analyst Emmanuel Boateng has commended the government for maintaining strong fiscal discipline under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme but expressed concern about weak policy implementation that continues to hinder economic progress. His remarks follow the release of the KPMG–UNDP 2026 Pre-Budget Survey, which revealed that many businesses are yet to feel the impact of the country’s reported macroeconomic progress.
Speaking on Business Breakfast on Zed FM, Mr. Boateng noted that while government policies appear sound on paper, the challenge lies in execution. He cited key reforms such as the digital tax portal and the Single Management Unit (SMU) as positive steps that have begun to yield results but stressed that the country still struggles with translating plans into tangible outcomes.
“Based on paper, government policies have been fairly strong. The IMF programme has in some sense anchored fiscal discipline and key reforms like the digital tax portal and SMU have begun to work. But there are always some lags that we must highlight,” he said.
Mr. Boateng revealed that as of June 2025, Ghana’s capital expenditure was about 63 percent below target, indicating that government was only able to implement 37 percent of its planned investment spending for the period.
“What that means is fewer roads, fewer industrial parks, and fewer health projects were actually delivered. If government executes only 37 percent of what was planned in the budget, then that is a serious problem,” he emphasized.
Despite this shortfall, he acknowledged that Ghana’s fiscal deficit had narrowed to 1.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), signaling improved financial discipline. However, he warned that the cutback in development spending has stalled several public projects that private businesses depend on for contracts, supply, and logistics.
Mr. Boateng called for stronger follow-through on government policies to ensure that fiscal prudence translates into visible development and private sector growth.
The Analyst also urged the government to prioritize energy reliability and pricing consistency if Ghana is to successfully implement its 24-hour economy initiative.
Speaking on Business Breakfast on Zed FM, Mr. Boateng emphasized that unpredictable power supply continues to pose a serious threat to productivity, particularly for manufacturers operating in key industrial areas.
“Let’s consider manufacturers. One hour of power cut can mean losing thousands of cedis in output,” he said.
He explained that for a 24-hour economy to function effectively, energy supply must be consistent, affordable, and predictable.
Mr. Boateng proposed that the 2026 Budget could address this by allocating funds to support distributed renewable energy projects in industrial zones and by introducing tax incentives for rooftop solar systems and energy-efficient equipment.
“If Ghana truly wants to build a 24-hour economy, energy pricing and reliability must be predictable because 24-hour means around the clock. Energy should be consistent, with no interruptions at all,” he stressed.
Mr. Boateng added that many people underestimate the impact of unreliable electricity until they personally experience its effects.
“Until you lose power and your room becomes unbearably hot, or you run a business that depends on electricity and experience an unexpected outage, you may not understand how big an issue it is,” he noted.
