Macau Business | March 2024 | Special Report | Public works
Old headaches, new remedies
The January 2017 special report editorial bore the title: “In the land where all works are postponed and no deadline is met”
The text aimed to characterise a situation in which delays of years were deemed normal, and deadlines announced at the highest level in the media were systematically disregarded.
Seven years have elapsed, and some changes have occurred.
Firstly, there has been increased attention paid to these same delays and budget overruns, resulting in heightened supervision.
The government also exhibits a different attitude today: more demanding, more interventionist, and more transparent.
Many things still go awry, and it’s not solely old problems that take an extended period to resolve (as exemplified by the lingering issue of Ká-Hó prison).
However, challenges with large-scale projects can emerge anywhere.
The distinguishing factor lies in how we address them: with resignation, as was customary in Macau, or with a more proactive approach – from all angles, including the media, which bears the responsibility to hold public authorities accountable in the interest of the social contract with its readers.
