The government spent GH¢50.553 billion on employee compensation between January and July 2026, representing a 12.6% increase compared with the same period in 2025.

However, the amount was GH¢2.390 billion below the programmed target of GH¢52.943 billion for the first seven months of the year, according to the July 2026 Monetary Policy Report.

The report indicated that compensation of government employees accounted for 35.2% of domestic revenue mobilised during the period.

The figures form part of the report’s overview of government expenditure, which showed that total expenditure and net lending amounted to GH¢147.077 billion between January and July 2026, against a programmed target of GH¢175.932 billion.

This represents a shortfall of GH¢28.855 billion, or approximately 16.4%, from the government’s planned expenditure for the period.

The report, released on July 22 following the Monetary Policy Committee’s 131st meeting, showed that spending fell below targets across several major expenditure categories, including employee compensation, goods and services, interest payments, grants to other government units and capital expenditure.

Despite falling short of its target, employee compensation recorded year-on-year growth, reflecting an increase in spending on salaries and other compensation for government workers.

Expenditure on goods and services totalled GH¢5.482 billion, below the programmed target of GH¢7.897 billion. However, spending under this category increased by 63.4% compared with the corresponding period in 2025.

Interest payments amounted to GH¢25.171 billion, against a target of GH¢34.117 billion. The amount was also 12.3% lower than the GH¢28.686 billion recorded between January and July 2025.

According to the report, the decline was mainly due to lower domestic interest payments and the front-loading of some Eurobond payments at the end of 2025.

Some payments made in late 2025 had originally been programmed for 2026, meaning that settling those obligations earlier shifted the timing of the expenditure away from the period under review.

Grants to other government units totalled GH¢30.611 billion, falling below the programmed target of GH¢35.866 billion. The amount also represented a 1.6% decline compared with the same period in 2025.

Capital expenditure amounted to GH¢24.228 billion, equivalent to 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Although capital spending increased by 157.9% year-on-year, it remained 25% below the government’s target for the first seven months of 2026.

Other expenditure totalled GH¢9.283 billion, falling 13.4% short of the programmed target.

Overall, the expenditure figures showed that while the government spent less than planned between January and July 2026, spending trends varied across the different categories, with employee compensation, goods and services and capital expenditure recording year-on-year increases, while interest payments and grants to other government units declined.