The Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, today, November 13, 2025, is presenting the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of government to Parliament.
The presentation is expected to outline the John Dramani Mahama-led administration next line of action in terms of public spending for 2026.
Earlier in July 2025, Ato Forson presented the mid-year budget review, highlighting, among other things, key economic indicators like inflation, gross international reserves and exchange rate performance for the first half of the 2025 fiscal year.
You can read our live fact-check of the mid-year budget review here. This live fact-check will verify claims from the minister’s presentation of the 2026 budget.
ECG revenue claims
Claim: “The Electricity Company of Ghana’s revenue has risen almost 90% from 900 million to 1.7 billion per month, per month, thanks to better enforcement of the cash waterfall mechanism.”
Fact-check: The final ECG revenue reported under the previous government, in December 2024 was GHS 970,012,000.00, according to the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) Cash Waterfall Mechanism Validation report for the month. “The total ECG revenues reported for December 2024 were GHS 970,012,000.00,” the report stated.
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GhanaFact checks for the last seven months show that revenue collection have ranged from a low of GHS 1,005,200,000.00 in January to a high of GHS 1,616,477,032.29 for June 2025.
Below are the month-on-month revenue reported by PURC:
| January 2025 | GHS 1,005,200,000.00 |
| February 2025 | GHS 1,135,702,316.89 |
| March 2025 | GHS 1,390,673,790.70. |
| April 2025 | GHS 1,400,217,026.80 |
| May 2025 | GHS 1,318,670,618.83 |
| June 2025 | GHS 1,616,477,032.29 |
| July 2025 | GHS 1,531,990,725.85 |
Per publicly available official figures, the difference between the best performing month in 2025 and the revenue figure reported in December 2024 is 646,465,032 cedis – which results in a percentage change of 66.6% and not the 90% claimed by the Finance Minister.
Meanwhile, it is worth acknowleding that the PURC is yet to release the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) Cash Waterfall Mechanism Validation reports for August, September and October, and that could impact the calculations, and our verdict.
Verdict: Based on publicly available records, the claim is rated False.
Month-on-month inflation
Claim: Inflation: 23.8% in December 2024 to 8% by October 2025
Fact-check: According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the inflation rate as of December 2024 was 23.8%, and 8.0% as of October 2025.
Verdict: The claim is true
Bills to be submitted in Parliament as announced in the 2026 Budget
- the Value for Money Bill;
- the Virtual Asset Services Providers Bill;
- the Value Added Tax Bill;
- the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy (Repeal) Bill;
- the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) (Amendment) Bill;
- the National Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill;
- the Public Procurement Regulations;
- request for approval for a Revised Investment Policy of the Ghana Petroleum Funds in line with Section 30 (1) (A) of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011, Act 815.
Real GDP claim
Claim: “Real GDP expanded by 6.3% in the first half of 2025 up from 5.1% in the same period of 2024. Non-oil GDP grew by 7.8%.”
Fact-check: According to data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS’s) GDP Quarterly newsletter: “The provisional quarterly real GDP growth rate, including oil and gas (Overall GDP), is 6.3 percent (year-on-year) in Q2 2025. In the same quarter in 2023 growth was 5.7 percent.”
GhanaFact observed that the GSS report miswrote 2023 instead of 2024 as is usually the case with such reports.
Verdict
The claim is a mixture.
Headline allocations for 2026 – Part I
| Allocation (GH¢) | Purpose |
| 110 million | 24 Hour Economy |
| 2.2 billion | Ministry of Food and Agriculture |
| 245 million | Nkoko Nketenkete, livestock and other programmes |
| 200 million | National Food Buffer Stock Company to purchase excess food for storage |
| 6.9 billion | National Policy on Integrated Oil Palm Development (2026–2032) |
| 828 million | The construction of 1,000km of agriculture enclave roads |
| 690 million | Operationalization of the Farmer Service Centres |
| 2 billion | Phase I of the Rural Electricity Acceleration and Urban Intensification Initiative |
| 15.2 billion | Energy sector shortfall payments |
| 4.8 billion | Pay legacy IPP debt |
Service and Agric sector growth – Q2 2024 vs. Q2 2025
Claim: “The service sector remains the heartbeat of recovery, surging 8.8%… Agriculture, the backbone of stability, also grew by 6% doubling that of last year’s pace.”
Fact-check: According to the 2025 second-quarterly report of the GSS, the service sector recorded a growth of 9.9% while agriculture sector recorded a growth of 5.2%. This is contrary to the Minister’s data as presented in the budget.
The service sector recorded 9.9% not 8.8% while agriculture recorded 5.2% not 6% as claimed.
Also, in the first half (Q2) of 2024, agriculture recorded a growth of 3.5% which is not half of this year’s 5.2. Therefore, the claim that this year’s agric sector doubled as against last year is false.
Verdict: The claim is False.
Headline allocations for 2026 – Part II
| 4.3 billion | Ministry of Road and Highways for roadconstruction. |
| 3.0 billion | Ministry of Road and Highways for GhanaRoad Maintenance Trust Fund to construct 10km each in 166 constituencies |
| 30 billion | Big Push Infrastructure Programme for strategic roads and bridges |
| 33.3 billion | Ministry of Education activities and programmes |
| 9.9 billion | Ministry of Education – Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) |
| 4.2 billion | Free Secondary Education |
| 1.1 billion | To end the double-track system and to improve the quality of our secondary education |
| 537 million | “No-Fee Stress” policy |
| 25 million | Free Tertiary Education for Persons Living with Disabilities |
| 3.0 billion | Four (4) sets of KG books and workbooks for about 200,000 learners;• four (4) sets of primary textbooks for 2 million learners; and• nine (9) sets of JHS 3 textbooks for 500,000 learners; and• procurement of over 2 million pieces of metal mono desks and chairs, 200 units 66-seater buses and 200double-cabin pick-ups for distribution to secondary schools across the country. |
| 2.0 billion | 200 new Junior High Schools, 200 new primary schools, 200 kindergartens,400 4-unit teachers’ bungalows and 400 places of convenience in underserved communities |
| 157 million | Capitation Grant |
| 1.98 billion | School Feeding Programme |
| 292 million | free sanitary pads for girls |
| 207 million | Teacher Trainee Allowances |
| 169 million | BECE registration |
| 9.0 billion | NHIS claims essential medicines, vaccines, bridging support and Free Primary Healthcare |
Inflation has fallen from 23.8% in December 2024 to 8% by October 2025
Claim: “Mr. Speaker, inflation has fallen faster than anyone imagined. From 23.8 percent in December 2024 to 8 percent by October 2025, Ghana is back to a single-digit inflation.”
Fact-check:
According to the December 2024 Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the inflation rate for December 2024 was 23.8%. In the October 2025 CPI release, the GSS announced that the iInflation rate for October 2025 is 8.0%.
The GSS data on inflation rate for December 2024 and October 2025 supports the Minister’s claim.
Verdict: The claim is therefore rated true.
Headline allocations for 2026 – Part III
| Allocation (GH¢) | Purpose |
| 2.3 billion | Ghana Medical Care Trust (MahamaCares) |
| 474 million | Nursing Trainee Allowances |
| 600 million | Construct three new regional hospitals |
| 79 million | Upgrade seven hospitals |
| 100 million | Complete 10 of the Agenda 111 hospital projects |
| 1.1 billion | LEAP programme |
| 401 million | Women’s Development Bank |
| 170 million | National Apprenticeship Programme |
| 100 million | National Coders Programme |
| 160 million | ‘Adwumawura’ enterprise support |
| 100 million | Monthly allowances to Assembly Members |
| 8.9 billion | District Assemblies Common Fund |
| 207 million | Rebasing of the GDP and CPI and relatedactivities |
| 150 million | National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) |
| 20 million | Film Fund seed money |
| 20 million | The Creative Arts Fund as seed money |
| 400 million | The Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECOP) |
| 100 million | Construction of fishing markets |
| 50 million | Purchase of fishing nets and outboard motors |
| 100 million | Aquaculture development |
| 500 million | District Housing, including resettlement of Akosombo Dam spillage victims |
| 200 million | Construction of mini stadiums |
| 150 million | Procurement of fire tenders and assorted fire equipment |
| 150 million | Black Stars to participate in the World Cup |
NOTE: The verdict on ECG revenue claim has been revised to False from Mixed.
