Gov’ts expenditure cut measures not far reaching  – Prof. Lord Mensah insists

An Economist, Professor Lord Mensah, has downplayed the effectiveness of the expenditure-cutting measures government announced on Thursday, insisting that it will amount to zilch.

He is of the view that government lacks self-discipline to yield the anticipated results in reversing the economic downturn from the measures announced.

Professor Lord Mensah says the country will be better off returning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support and discipline.

Speaking in an interview monitored on CitiFM, the Economist argued that the government’s expectation will be difficult to meet as it will even have little bearing on savings.

“Clearly, I will not tow that line of the expenditure cutting measures as announced by the Finance Minister; introducing our own measures and self-discipline towards expenditure. I will also not go in that line of expenditure self-discipline, because how are we going to measure them in terms of benchmarks to determine whether we are following it or not. “

“I cannot guarantee that, so effectively, I am not for the self-discipline. Even the savings we are going to make as a result of these measures are peanuts; they are not enough.”

Government earlier in the week outlined various interventions to salvage the country’s ailing economy.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta highlighted some 12 points for cutting down public expenditure including a moratorium on the purchase of imported vehicles and foreign travels by public officials.

He also indicated plans to generate more revenue including passing the E-levy, adding that there are also plans to inject $2 billion into the economy in the next 2 to 6 weeks.