{"id":103438,"date":"2025-11-15T13:57:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T13:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=103438"},"modified":"2025-11-15T13:57:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T13:57:42","slug":"2026-budget-economist-urges-efficient-implementation-of-bold-infrastructure-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=103438","title":{"rendered":"2026 Budget: Economist urges efficient implementation of bold infrastructure plans"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>1 Minute, 42 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><div>\n<p>Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Priscilla Twumasi Baffour, has welcomed the government\u2019s renewed emphasis on infrastructure development in the 2026 Budget but cautioned that the real test lies in effective implementation and prudent use of public funds.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on<strong> JoyNews\u2019 Newsfile<\/strong> on Saturday, November 15, Dr Twumasi Baffour said the budget outlines ambitious intentions regarding expenditure and revenue, with encouraging commitments to strengthening the economy\u2019s productive base.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe that the budget is basically government\u2019s intentions in terms of expenditure and revenue,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe plans are bold; we are excited about the fact that we are investing in infrastructure to build on the productive base of the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, she stressed that many similar projects had appeared in previous budgets without corresponding action, making efficient implementation crucial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the reality of it is in the implementation,\u201d she said. \u201cSome of the projects we see have been observed in earlier budgets. The implementation is critical, as is efficiency in the usage of public funds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr Twumasi Baffour highlighted procurement as a major national challenge, warning that inefficiencies and corruption in the system often lead to inflated government expenditure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernment expenditure is always over-bloated. So in that regard, we hope that that office will work efficiently and not become another conduit to delay and extort funds from contractors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turning to the financing of the proposed infrastructure drive, the economist cautioned that the government\u2019s reliance on mineral resources may be risky, given declining oil revenues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur expectation is that if the funding is available\u2026 I must indicate that a lot of the big-push infrastructural funding is based on mineral resources,\u201d she explained. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOil revenues have been going down due to the reduction in oil production in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite these concerns, Dr Twumasi Baffour said the potential benefits could be significant if the plans are executed properly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hope that, if all things are equal, there is improvement in connectivity, access to roads, and connecting farms to factories,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n        <div class=\"booster-block 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                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                                                                        <span class=\"twp-react-percent\"><span>0<\/span> %<\/span>\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n    ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myjoyonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-76-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"2026 Budget: Economist urges efficient implementation of bold infrastructure plans\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2026 Budget: Economist urges efficient implementation of bold infrastructure plans\">Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr Priscilla Twumasi Baffour, has welcomed the government\u2019s renewed emphasis on infrastructure development in the 2026 Budget but cautioned that the real test lies in effective implementation and prudent use of public funds.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4620,12557,1883,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2026-budget","category-dr-priscilla-twumasi-baffour","category-national","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103438\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}