State should quit business, stick to water and roads, Gaming Commission’s Lamtiig Apanga says bailouts prove SOEs are failing.
The Acting Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Gaming Commission of Ghana, Lamtiig A. Apanga, wants government to gradually withdraw from commercial business activities, saying many State-Owned Enterprises perform poorly and require frequent bailouts. Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue programme on May 16, he said the state should focus on regulation and oversight of essential services such as water, electricity and roads because of their strategic and national security importance. Mr Apanga said that water supply in particular should be under the control of the government as it is a basic social necessity and the private sector could mismanage it. He said the government had shown signs of learning from past challenges and a greater humility in addressing its limitations. His comments follow the announcement by the Government of Ghana that it had successfully completed the International Monetary Fund Extended Credit Facility programme and transitioned to a non-financing policy support framework.
