Dr. Mahama Tiah Abdul-Kabiru, Member of Parliament for Walewale and former Economic Advisor to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has raised concerns about the feasibility of the government’s revenue target for 2026.
Speaking on the 2026 budget on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Monday, November 17, Dr. Abdul-Kabiru said the Finance Minister’s plan to raise total revenue and grants to GH¢268 billion, representing 16.8 percent of GDP, may be overly ambitious.
“One of the targets that I think that the finance minister will labour to achieve is the revenue target. The finance minister is expecting to do more than he did this year in terms of revenue and is telling us that he is going to rake in a lot of revenue and is planning to do some GHS268 billion which constitutes 16.8% of GDP when the finance minister ended this year with 11% of GDP. Basically a six percent jump cannot be realistic for me,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the government has indicated that the increase in revenue is expected to be driven largely by improved non-oil tax collections and efforts to expand the tax base through compliance and digitalisation.
The 2026 fiscal year has a total expenditure projected at GH¢302.5 billion, equivalent to 18.9 percent of GDP, while total revenue and grants are expected to reach GH¢268.1 billion.
“The overall fiscal balance on commitment basis is projected at a deficit of GH¢34.4 billion, equivalent to 2.2 percent of GDP. The corresponding primary balance records a surplus of GH¢23.3 billion, representing 1.5 percent of GDP, in line with our medium-term fiscal target,” the Finance Minister stated.
Read also
Govt targets GH¢268bn in revenue for 2026 – Ato Forson