ISSER calls for increased capital spending to support businesses

The Director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), Professor Robert Darko Osei, is urging government to increase capital expenditure to support businesses and improve efficiency in the economy.

He says government’s reliance on cuts in capital expenditure as a tool for achieving fiscal consolidation risks undermining investment in critical infrastructure needed to support economic activity.

Speaking on PM Express Business Edition, Professor Robert Darko Osei disclosed that capital expenditure in the first half of 2026 fell more than 40 percent below target.

He says the trend is inconsistent with government’s ambition to accelerate infrastructure development and strengthen the business environment.

“We were down by the target by over 40 percent in terms of the capital expenditures, which clearly is not consistent with a big push to try and beef up infrastructure,” he said.

Professor Osei explains that infrastructure development must be treated as a key component of efforts to improve business efficiency rather than simply an investment in physical assets.

“We are not doing the infrastructure for the sake of infrastructure. We are doing the infrastructure to support the ecosystem within which businesses operate,” he noted.

He is therefore calling on government to channel more resources into capital projects as it considers how to utilise the fiscal space created through its consolidation efforts.

However, he cautions that increasing capital expenditure must go hand in hand with effective monitoring and accountability.

“It is not just the number of or the amount of cedis that we spend. It is also the efficiency of the spending,” he stressed.

Professor Osei says government must put in place adequate checks and balances to ensure capital projects deliver value for money and achieve their intended economic benefits.