The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, has stated that Ghana has the capacity to raise up to GH₵50 billion if public resources are managed efficiently and transparently.
Speaking at a two-day Media Fellowship in Accra, Mr. Boakye explained that the country’s fiscal space can support massive investments in modern hospitals, quality schools, reliable road networks, and better healthcare systems, but wasteful spending and inefficiencies continue to deny citizens these essential services.
He projected that with effective monitoring and accountability, Ghana could generate an extra GH₵2 billion in revenue next year alone, and as much as GH₵50 billion in the coming years. According to him, these funds could be strategically invested in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure to transform the country’s development outlook.
Mr. Boakye lamented that despite Ghana’s annual budget of around GH₵50 billion, hospitals still lack basic medical equipment worth less than $10 million, forcing patients to outsource simple laboratory tests abroad.
“Governments will prioritise fanfares and ceremonies over saving lives with basic equipment. That is the problem. We hesitate when it comes to what truly matters,” he stressed.
Beyond healthcare, he also highlighted the poor quality of publicly funded projects, pointing to unsafe school buildings, under-resourced hospitals, and shoddy construction works executed under the supervision of state engineers.
“These are projects executed with taxpayer money, yet they put citizens’ lives at risk while draining scarce resources,” he added.
Mr. Boakye emphasised that accountability must go beyond budget statements and focus on whether investments actually improve the lives of ordinary Ghanaians. He urged journalists to hold government accountable by exposing inefficiencies and corruption in public service delivery.
“We are depending on you to track how resources are being used. This is the beginning of demanding better governance to improve the lives of our people.”
The ACEP Media Fellowship brought together over 20 journalists from across Ghana, training them in areas such as budget analysis, fiscal data interpretation, corruption investigations, and digital advocacy. Participants were awarded certificates at the end of the two-day programme.
Source:Lovinghananews.com
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