Dr Johnson Asiama, BoG Governor Audio By Carbonatix Consumer spending, proxied by domestic VAT collections and retail sales, posted a positive performance in January 2026 compared with the corresponding period in 2025. According to the March 2026 Monetary Policy Report (MPR), domestic VAT collections increased by 7.1% on a year on-year basis to GH¢1.799 billion, from GH¢1.680 billion. However, on a month-on-month basis, domestic VAT declined by 13.1%nt in January 2026 from GH¢2.069 billion in the preceding month. Retail sales increased by 16.6% year-on-year to GH¢277.88 million in January 2026, up from the GH¢238.38 million recorded in the same period in 2025. Compared to December 2025, however, retail sales declined by 41.1%. Manufacturing Activities Also, activities in the manufacturing sub-sector, gauged by trends in the collection of direct taxes and private sector workers’ contributions to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme (Tier-1), recorded a positive performance in January 2026. Total Direct Taxes collected increased by 9.0% to GH¢5.802 billion in January 2026, compared with GH¢5.322 billion recorded in January 2025. Conversely, on a month-on-month basis, total Direct Taxes collected for January 2026 declined by 64.4% from GH¢16.305 billion collected in December 2025. In terms of contributions of the various sub-tax categories, corporate tax accounted for 40.7%, Income tax (PAYE and self-employed) accounted for 40.3%, while “Other Tax Sources” contributed 18.9%. Total private sector workers’ contribution to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier-1) went up by 16.8% in year-on year terms to GH¢551.97 million in January 2026 from GH¢472.62 million collected during the corresponding period in 2025. Construction Sector Activities Activity in the construction sub-sector, proxied by the volume of cement sales, declined by 7.7% year-on-year in January 2026 to 206,798.89 tonnes, compared with 223,936.19 tonnes recorded a year ago. On a month-on-month basis, total cement sales remained largely unchanged in January 2026 compared with the 207,929.45 tonnes recorded in December 2025. The year-on-year decline in total cement sales was due to a slowdown in construction activities during the review period. DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited. Tags: BoG Construction consumer spending Manufacturing MPR DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited. Related to this story Number of advertised jobs falls in February 2026 – BoG BoG issues new guidelines for operation of non-resident margin accounts, strengthens FX rules Producer Price Inflation increases marginally to 1.5% IMF recommends strengthening of BoG’s macroprudential framework BoG Governor honoured for stabilising cedi, improve inflation Alban Bagbin declines minority’s motion to investigate sale of gold reserves at BoG Finance Ministry, BoG clarify false claims about Databank’s bond market specialist status NPL ratio remains high despite improved asset quality – Deloitte Prolonged Middle East conflict poses significant risk to economy – BoG Financial Stability Council holds first meeting in 2026 Latest Stories Consumer spending records strong performance in January 2026, but construction sector activities declined – BoG5 minutes Number of advertised jobs falls in February 2026 – BoG11 minutes Government’s new free primary healthcare policy marks a turning point in saving lives in Ghana15 minutes Asiedu Nkekia heads north, hists Upper West on Monday41 minutes Aduana family rejects ‘breakaway’ claim, reaffirms loyalty to Okyenhene2 hours Mahama applauds progress on Tamale Teaching Hospital Cardiology Centre2 hours GRASAG holds 30th Annual National Congress at UCC, elects new leadership2 hours Nyinahini Bauxite Deal: Community pushes GIADEC to consider local investors2 hours Assafuah alleges nepotism at NPRA over rapid promotion and GH¢90k transfer grant4 hours Fire ravages Berekum Cinema Hall, destroying property worth thousands of cedis5 hours To create a prosecutorial office, Article 88 must be amended – Deputy AG5 hours Mahama directs Health Ministry to establish Tamale cancer treatment centre as new cardio facility nears completion5 hours Pope Leo tells Angola during huge Mass to ‘build hope’5 hours KATH dental outreach exposes healthcare strain at Kumasi Central Prison5 hours AngloGold Ashanti pledges continued STEM investment after successful Obuasi bootcamp5 hours