GHANA: Acknowledge Mahama when you tour and commission projects in Greater Accra – NDC to Akufo-Addo

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), the largest opposition party in Ghana has called on the president of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo to do the right thing by acknowledging the efforts of his predecessor – former President Mahama and give him credit where credit is due during his  tour of the Greater Accra region which begins today.

In a statement issued by the party’s and signed by its National Communication Officer  – Mr Sammy Gyamfi, the party said it expect nothing but candor on the part of President Akufo-Addo during this tour. They are argued “…we believe in giving credit where credit is due. We think that successive governments have a moral duty to be fair and candid in how they appropriate credit for projects initiated and commenced by their predecessors. It was in recognition of this moral duty that the previous NDC-Mills/Mahama Administration invited former President Kufuor to the commissioning ceremony of the N1 George W. Bush Highway in February 2012, and in that same vein, we expect nothing but candor on the part of President Akufo-Addo during this tour.”

Read the full statement below

PRESS RELEASE
4/12/2018
RE: PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO COMMISSIONS AND INSPECTS OVER 10
MAJOR PROJECTS AS PART OF HIS GREATER ACCRA TOUR THIS WEEK.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), has taken notice of the Ministry of Information’s
statement on the above subject, informing the good people of Ghana of a working tour of the
Greater Accra Region by His Excellency President Akufo-Addo. In the said statement,
Government pathetically lists ten (10) “major” projects that the President will be visiting during
his tour, most of which are projects of the erstwhile NDC-Mahama Administration, and a
vindication of the towering infrastructure legacy of H.E President Mahama.

Once again, it is clear that the Greater Regional tour of President Akufo Addo will bring to the
fore the palpable and incontrovertible investments of the Mahama administration in
infrastructure development. It is our hope that President Akufo-Addo will for once
acknowledge the facts and credit his predecessor where credit is due.

However, due to government’s unbridled penchant for plagiarizing and appropriating credit for
projects of the NDC-Mahama Administration, we deem it prudent to lay the facts surrounding
these projects bare to ensure that the unsuspecting General Public are not hoodwinked by the
deceptions of the Akufo-Addo government.

For the avoidance of doubt, we would like to put on record that funding for the Tema Motorway
Interchange project which President Akufo-Addo will be inspecting as part of this tour, was
secured by the Mahama Administration as far back as June 2016 (check out
http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2016/june-25th/govt-secures-loan-to-constructinterchange-at-tema-roundabout.php).

Also, both the New Assembly Building and School Complex at Anyaa Sowutuom which
President Akufo-Addo will be commissioning as part of this tour are all Mahama legacies
commenced on 1st August, 2014 and 1st January, 2014 respectively, both of which were about
90% complete at the time the NDC exited office in January 2017. Also, it is an incontestable
fact that the New Ultra Modern AMA Building which the President will be commissioning as
part of this tour was commenced by the Mahama Administration and was about 95% complete
by December 2016. These projects are but a few of the many infrastructure achievements of
the Mahama Administration in just the Greater Accra Region.

Despite the fact that the NDC subscribes to the principle of governance being a continuum, and
that successive governments must pursue projects commenced by preceding governments in
line with the Directive Principles of State Policy, we believe in giving credit where credit is
due. We think that successive governments have a moral duty to be fair and candid in how they
appropriate credit for projects initiated and commenced by their predecessors. It was in
recognition of this moral duty that the previous NDC-Mills/Mahama Administration invited
former President Kufuor to the commissioning ceremony of the N1 George W. Bush Highway
in February 2012, and in that same vein, we expect nothing but candor on the part of President
Akufo-Addo during this tour.

Another critical issue which has been brought to the fore by this tour is the fact that the AkufoAddo/Bawumia government has performed poorly and has accomplished very little relative to
infrastructure development within the two (2) years that they have been in power. Thus, the
regional tours of the President are only a glorification and celebration of mediocrity and a waste
of the taxpayers money. Apart from the fact that government has increased the Public Debt by
a whopping GHc50 Billion in only two (2) years, they have gotten more revenue (both in oil
and taxes) than any other government in the history of Ghana.

Yet all they can boast of is a private-owned Astro turf facility, inherited Mahama projects and
a handful of insignificant projects. Though they remain the most resourced government in the
history of Ghana, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has woefully failed to invest in key
capital projects which can create sustainable jobs and improve the socio-economic wellbeing
of the Ghanaian. This confirms our long-held view that President Akufo-Addo is visionless,
inept and a monumental failure.

Finally, it is obvious that the so called “major” achievements of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia
government in the Greater Accra Region pales into insignificance when compared to the solid
record of the John Mahama Administration in the Greater Accra Region. Below are a few of
the developmental projects undertaken by the Mahama Administration in the Greater Accra
Region, which created thousands of jobs and improved the livelihoods of the Ghanaian people.

HEALTH
* 400-bed Ridge Hospital
* 650-bed University of Ghana Medical Centre
* 130-bed Maritime Hospital
* 120-Shai-Osu Doku District Hospital
* Ofankor District Hospital
* 5 Polyclinics at Oduman, Ashaiman, Bortianor, Adentan and Sege, built with 13.5 million
Euros secured by President Mahama in June, 2016.

WATER
* Kpong Water Expansion project which added 40 million gallons of water production capacity
to end the decade-old water shortages at Adenta and the Northern part of Accra
* Teshie desalination project
* Accra-Tema Water expansion project

ROADS
* Nkrumah Interchange project
* Burma Camp Road Phases I and II
* Giffard Road project
* Awoshie-Pokuase Road project
* Securing of funds for Pokuase Interchange and Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange
* Asphalt overlay of several major roads in Accra
*COMMUNICATIONS*
* National Data Centre
* Accra Digital Centre

TRANSPORT
* KIA Terminal 3
* New Arrival Hall at KIA Terminal 2
* Ayalolo transport system
* US$1.5 Billion MPS Tema Port Expansion project which quadruple the size of the port.
These are but a few of the many projects undertaken by the John Mahama Administration in
the Greater Accra region which time and space will allow us to enumerate.

CONCLUSION
It is amply evident that President Akufo-Addo, having grown weary of his idleness at the seat
of government, has resorted to these tours just to mislead the Ghanaian people into thinking
that he has been busy working. Whilst we grant the President his right to engage in such
populist gimmicks, we wish to urge him to bring some candor and sincerity to the Presidency
by acknowledging his political opponents for the obvious works he did not do.
We further urge the President to shun celebrating mediocrity by commissioning private-owned
Astro Turfs, KVIP toilets and JB Danquah Memorial Centres, and rather commission two
monumental projects in the Greater Accra Region, namely the Kotoka Airport Terminal 3 and
the 1,500 Sagleme Housing Project bequeathed to him by his predecessor John Mahama.
………………………
SAMMY GYAMFI
(National Communication Officer, NDC)