John Mahama replies Nana Addo on "ghost projects"

Isaac Yeboah Politics May - 22 - 2018 , 11:11 7 minutes read

The office of ex-president John Dramani Mahama has challenged President Akufo-Addo to show what projects his administration has initiated 17 months into his administration.

President Mahama’s office says Nana Akufo-Addo is ‘rolling back the clock of socio-economic transformation’ when at the least, he should be adding to his predecessor's significant gains.

In a riposte to President Akufo-Addo’s accusation while on a tour of the Brong Ahafo region that his predecessor dabbled in "ghost projects", Special Aide to John Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari has produced a long list of projects she says the Mahama administration undertook while in government, and others he initiated before exiting office, between 2013 and 2016 in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The list includes projects in the Health, Educational, Water, and Roads sectors as well as rural electrification.

“It is regrettable that President Akufo-Addo has yet again failed to exhibit candour in his speech, this time to the Chiefs and people of Nkoranza in Brong Ahafo Region. It is even more worrying when there is overwhelming evidence of the massive investment made in the provision of various projects for the people of Ghana.

“Mr. Mahama, who remains grateful to the people of this country for the opportunity to serve them, is gratified that he was able to provide tangible development in all sectors that enhanced the quality of life of Ghanaians.

“The least President Akufo-Addo must do is to add to his predecessor's significant gains instead of rolling back the clock of socio-economic transformation. After seventeen months in office, what the people want to see are the projects initiated or started by the President since he was sworn into office.”

The full rejoinder is provided below

STATEMENT IN REACTION TO PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO'S GHOST PROJECTS COMMENT

The attention of the Office of HE John Dramani Mahama has been drawn to the false comments made by President Nana Akufo-Addo to the effect that the unprecedented capital investments made by the Mahama administration cannot be seen and are "ghost projects".

It is regrettable that President Akufo-Addo has yet again failed to exhibit candour in his speech, this time to the Chiefs and people of Nkoranza in Brong Ahafo Region. It is even more worrying when there is overwhelming evidence of the massive investment made in the provision of various projects for the people of Ghana.

Mr. Mahama, who remains grateful to the people of this country for the opportunity to serve them, is gratified that he was able to provide tangible development in all sectors that enhanced the quality of life of Ghanaians.

The least President Akufo-Addo must do is to add to his predecessor's significant gains instead of rolling back the clock of socio-economic transformation. After seventeen months in office, what the people want to see are the projects initiated or started by the President since he was sworn into office.

In the Brong Ahafo Region, for instance, the region had its fair share of development, which can be honestly attested to by the chiefs and people of the Region. How the President can say these are ghost projects is surprising.

For the benefit of the President, I wish to provide below, a list of some projects undertaken by the John Dramani Mahama administration between 2013 and 2016 in the Brong Ahafo Region.

ROADS SECTOR

■ Dormaa Ahenkro- Nkrankwanta road
■ Dormaa Ahenkro Town roads
■ Dormaa Ahenkro- Babianiha roads
■ Babianiha- Antwirifo roads
■ Nkoranza Town roads
■ Nkoranza- Jema Road
■ Wenchi Town roads
■ Techiman Town roads
■ Techiman- Offuman roads
■ Sunyani Town roads
■ Jema-Amoma-Anyima road
■ Nkoranza - Busunya road
■ Goaso-Akyerensua road
■ Mmahame Junction - Dadiesoaba road
■ Dadiesoaba - Siechem road
■ Sunyani Senior High School roads.

In addition to the above, the following road projects had been awarded and were under construction at the time the NDC left office in January 2017.
■ Kintampo Town roads
■ Jema Town roads
■ Atebubu-Kwame-Danso roads
■ Sankore - Nobekwa road
■ Bechem Town roads.

HEALTH SECTOR

As part of efforts to bring healthcare to the doorstep of the people of the Brong Ahafo region, the John Mahama administration constructed, equipped and operationalized five (5) polyclinics at Techimantia, Kwatire, Bomaa, Wamfie and Nkrankwanta.

The TAIN District Hospital at Nsawkaw, started by the same government, was about 75% complete at the time the NDC exited office.

A total of one hundred and twenty-one (121) CHPS Compounds were also constructed across the region. The region also benefitted from the National Hospital Equipment Replacement Programme under which modern health equipment were installed in all public hospitals.

EDUCATION SECTOR

We wish to remind President Akufo-Addo that it was the Mills and Mahama administration that established the first Public University in the history of the Brong Ahafo Region, the University of Energy and Natural Resources- UNER, which today has a student population of more than three thousand (3000).

The Mahama administration also established the Dormaa satellite campus of the UNER and provided many transformative facilities on the main Sunyani Campus of the University.

The following Health Training Institutions were established in the region- Sampa Nursing Training School, Techiman Nursing Training School, Yamfo College of Health, Dadiesoaba Nursing Training School, Seikwa Nursing Training School, Kwapong Nursing Training School and Goaso Midwifery School.

To further expand educational facilities and opportunities in the region, the following projects were undertaken:
■ Construction of fifteen (15) Community Day Senior High Schools (Danyame, Techimantia, Techiman, Kasapin, Duadaso, Kintampo, Awrowa amoing others)
■ The absorption and enhancement of 16 other Community Secondary Schools in the region e.g. Sankore Senior High School.
■ Establishment of a satellite campus in Techiman for the University of Education Winneba.
■ Expansion of the Nkoranza Technical Institute by constructing eleven (11) new structures for the Institute.
■ Construction of over two hundred and forty (240) six-unit classroom blocks for basic schools in the region. These projects were all at different stages of completion as at January 2017.

Additionally, the NDC Government constructed educational facilities ranging from dormitories, classroom blocks and administration blocks in almost every Public Senior High School in the region.

WATER SECTOR

To ensure access to potable water in order to ensure good health and enhance productivity, President Mahama provided the Brong Ahafo region with the following:
■ Berekum Water project- this project will supply the people of Berekum and its environs with water till the year 2050
■ Construction of 23 Community Small Town Water projects across the Region
■ 1,446 Boreholes and 71 solar-powered boreholes across the region
■ Expansion of Bechem and Duayawkwanta water facilities.

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION

Under the leadership of President John Mahama, over seven hundred (700) communities in the region were added to the national grid. These communities included Danyame, Nsesreso, Antwirifo, communities in the Nkrankwanta District and eighty (80) communities in the Kintampo Municipality among others.

Let me place on record that the above list is by no means exhaustive. It is therefore inexplicable how any citizen of Ghana would purport not to be aware of these visible investments much less the President of Ghana, who should and can assess information about all these very easily.

Even as we remain convinced that an unwholesome political motive may have informed the President feigning ignorance, we wish to encourage him to use the opportunity offered by these tours, to explain to the people of Ghana why they should continue to repose confidence in him after having disappointed them through his failure to honour many campaign promises.

We note, sadly, that owing to this failure, President Akufo-Addo is touring the country empty handed with little or nothing to show for his stewardship so far. As a consequence, he has resorted to making more promises on his regional tours after seventeen months in office.

The much awaited campaign promises of 'one District, one factory', 'one village, one dam', 'one million dollars for each constituency every year' are yet to to materialize.

Also conspicuously missing on the President's agenda in the Brong Ahafo Region was a tangible update on efforts to make good his promise to pay victims of the micro-finance scams that became a subject of his campaign in 2016.