Hei criticizes efficiency of government spending

By: Hertha Ekandjo

Salomo Hei, Managing Director of High Economic Intelligence, has expressed concerns over the efficiency of government spending, emphasizing that increased expenditure alone will not resolve the country’s challenges.

Speaking at the recent budget discussions in Windhoek, Hei pointed out that the issues lie not in the amount of money allocated but in the lack of efficiency and tangible outcomes tied to those expenditures.

“I think there’s challenges around the efficiencies linked to the outcomes that we want to see with the spending. So we can increase the allocation, but if the allocation is not efficient and linked to outcomes, the problems that we are having will not go away such as the challenges around procurement of medicines.”

He cited ongoing problems in critical sectors like healthcare and education, stating that without addressing the inefficiencies in procurement and management, increasing the budget would not solve the problems.

Hei mentioned issues like the procurement of medicines and the shortage of ambulances as key areas that need immediate attention.

“If we don’t have our hands on these issues, we can spend as much money as we want, but those problems will not go away,” he explained.

Hei also highlighted the substantial funding directed towards education, noting that despite the significant investments, the outcomes have been disappointing.

“Education has been earmarked for huge spending, but it has not given us the outcomes we wanted to see,” he said, referring to the underperformance in national exams like Mathematics, English, and Science results.

He pointed out that, despite the large financial commitment to education, there was a concerning 26% of ungraded students in core Mathematics, with less than 1% of young people achieving a distinction.

“There’s no way you can have such poor results in core Mathematics, given the amount of money government spends on education,” Hei remarked, stressing the urgent need for a return on the significant investment in human resources.

With further discussions around digital healthcare and other sectors, Hei called for a more focused and efficient approach to ensure that the substantial resources allocated to various sectors lead to meaningful improvements in outcomes.

The post Hei criticizes efficiency of government spending first appeared on Future Media News.

The post Hei criticizes efficiency of government spending appeared first on Future Media News.