Accra, Ghana, June 2, 2018//-A renowned economist and Professor at the University of Cape Coast, Prof John Gatsi has expressed worry at the wanton dissipation of national investments in Ghana.
This according to him, does not augur well for the socio-economic development of the West African country.
Prof Gatsi who expressed these sentiments in an interview, noted: “The consistent impunity with which national investments are made to go waste is alarming.”
His sentiments come at the time when this government abandoned several projects of the previous regime.
“There are many markets built which are not being used for the purpose for which they were built. Legon hospital, Bank of Ghana Hospital, Housing projects, roads etc are left to deteriorate”, Prof Gatsi cited these to buttress the point.
He asked: “What is going on? Does it mean we sought authorization from parliament to borrow to undertake wasteful investment? Why is parliament not engaging in audit of all projects for which loan authorization was given but such projects are left to deteriorate?”
Prof Gatsi continued: ” Why as a people we don’t want to ensure that a new government must provide justification approved by parliament as to why projects started by past government should not continue especially when more than 50% of such projects are left to worsen the plight of people directly or indirectly linked to those projects?”
Prof Gatsi therefore called on the Parliament of Ghana as a matter of urgency to conduct audit into all the abandoned projects dotted across the length and breadth of the country.
He observed that during electioneering campaign politicians give all promises including provision of sustainable jobs, fight against corruption, continuation of key strategic ongoing projects.
“If government engages in something so different that programs are not balanced with legitimate demands of people, then the logic inherent in governance must be questioned.
Responding to legitimate questions of poor governance in a manner described as vile, vitriolic, vulgar and venomous then something is wrong”.
Governance is indeed very complex and undulating. There are dynamics from government agenda and the needs of people. When government programs and action plans do not respond to short, medium and long term dreams of citizens , they lose hope and do not trust government policies, Prof Gatsi admonished.
African Eye Report
