Economist Dr. Peter Terkper has urged the incoming administration to focus on critical projects and reassess public spending priorities to effectively tackle the country’s financial difficulties.
Dr. Terkper stressed the importance of evaluating ongoing projects to ensure they meet the immediate needs of citizens, such as improving water and healthcare services, rather than distributing resources across multiple initiatives.
His comments come as President-elect John Mahama unveils a comprehensive plan to address economic challenges and ease the financial burdens on citizens and businesses.
” Public spending, if you look at it, this government is having a lot of projects on its plate that it is implementing. And all boils onto revenue. Because if you don’t have money, how do you implement a lot of project? And he’s also coming to office with his own plan and policy.
But at the end of the day, it’s all going to be linked to the generation of income or revenue by the same economy. And so once it is high, you are going to be impacted negatively because all of it is public spending. So he should look at taking stock of all projects that are under construction, that are ongoing, and then look at which of them are critical. Those that have to be put on hold must be put on hold. Because you see, if you have the option to build a school or construct a water facility or a hospital,”
And what the people need is water. Don’t go and start the water project. Start school project and start hospital project at the same time. Do only the water for now, and then let the rest come later. Don’t go and start altogether, ” He said.
Dr. Terkper urged the government to focus on key projects and choose problem-solvers over loyalists to meet high public expectations.
Dr. Terkper said, “The expectation of this government is high. And when the expectation is highlighted, it means you have to do what is not the norm. And for you to do that, you must gather strong political will so that you can be able to navigate and then be able to do what you are expected to do. And so he should look at taking stock of all the items that he want himself wants to do, and then see which of them can be implemented within the 4 years. Which of them cannot be implemented but puts the system in place, then it will help you to reduce the burden on yourself.
Other than that, you go and tackle so many things, and then you will have result. And people will see that it’s not done anything. So if you look at key things”
