Economist Slams Ghana’s Wasteful Public Spending

KEY POINTS

• Prof. Bokpin criticized the government for mismanaging public funds.
• The Flower Pot Interchange costs have skyrocketed since inception.
• Calls for credible leadership to ensure efficient resource utilization.

Prof. Godfred Bokpin, a professor of finance and economics at the University of Ghana Business School, has blasted the government for misusing public monies on dubious projects, specifically pointing to the Flower Pot Interchange and the 1 Village, 1 Dam scheme.

Bokpin criticizes inflated costs of flower pot Interch

Prof. Bokpin said that one of the nation’s biggest problems is inefficient governmental spending. He pointed out that a lot of projects, including the recently opened Flower Pot Interchange, are frequently expensive and don’t provide value for the money. He claims that even though the government has made significant investments in building dams and interchanges, many roads are still in poor condition.

In an interview with Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, November 20, Bokpin stated, “There are instances where we have spent taxpayers’ money to construct dams, supposedly, and you may find that potholes on our roads actually hold more water than the dams we’ve constructed.”

He added, “You will see inefficiency if the Ghanaian government builds an interchange and you look at the cost of constructing that interchange, maybe comparing it to world averages.” We have to deal with that as that is where our issues come from.

In order to solve urgent national issues, Prof. Bokpin underlined the necessity of judicious resource management, emphasizing that Ghana’s limited resources must be distributed effectively.

Economist urges resource management and credible leadership

According to myjoyonline, the economist also re-examined the criticisms levelled at the 1 Village, 1 Dam initiative, which has been heavily criticized for not living up to expectations. He urged “credible leadership” to guarantee that government initiatives yield observable results and foster a more favorable investment environment for the advancement of the country.

Opposition parties and concerned individuals have criticized the program’s inefficiencies throughout the years, pointing out that many of the built dams are now regarded as “white elephants.”

The Flower Pot Interchange project was mentioned as one instance of inefficiency. The project was initially given GH¢69.5 million by the NDC government in 2016, but under the Nana-Addo administration, its cost rose to GH¢147 million in 2017 and is currently close to GH¢1 billion.

James Amoo-Gottfried, the director-general of the National Roads Authority, justified the cost increases by pointing to a major extension of the project’s scope. The scope was very different at first. Two overpasses with a combined bridge length of roughly 120 meters were to be involved. We currently have a bridge that is 1,022 meters long,” he said.

The Minority in Parliament demanded clarification on the expense escalation, and he responded with his comments.