Ahead of the state of the nation address later today and the budget statement on Friday, Economist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School, Dr. Lord Mensah, has charged government to introduce concrete measures that will keep its expenditure in check.

Some of the measures he said could include setting clear targets for all ministers to ensure they are keeping their expenses low while raking in revenue for government.

He made the comments on the back of government’s announcement to introduce a new Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery Programme.

In an interview on Eyewitness News, Dr. Mensah said a conservative approach to expenditure management will ensure the country has enough resources to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What I would say is that, going forward with the fight against COVID-19 and expenditure, I expect the government to look at our expenditure side of our budget and the ministers that have been appointed possibly look at their performance business-wise and then give them some target in terms of their expenditure. And I believe that if you look at their expenditure side of the budget, and you look at it with business eyes…and being conserved as much as we can when it comes to spending our way into the year and I think we should be able to stay out of these troubles.”

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will deliver his first State of the Nation Address in his second term today, Tuesday, March 9, 2021.

This will be in accordance with Article 67 of the Constitution which mandates the President to present to Parliament the address at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before the dissolution of Parliament.