A Call On The People Of Northern Ghana

PRESS RELEASE

DATE: 29TH AUGUST, 2011

A Call On The People Of Northern Ghana NOT TO RENEW THE MANDATE OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT FROM NORTHERN GHANA IN THE 2012 GENERAL ELECTIONS

Members of Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) wish to call on the good people of northern Ghana through this statement to do a great thing by not renewing the mandate of current members of parliament (MPs) from northern Ghana in the 2012 general elections. This is because the MPs both in majority and minority have over the years not only failed to champion the cause of northern Ghana and articulate the concerns of their constituents but have also woefully failed in their core mandate to check government’s diversion, conversion and misappropriation of public funds meant for the development of northern Ghana.

It is recalled that the Ghanaian Parliament in 2008 approved a loan of $500 million from the government of Brazil for the construction of two projects; Pwalugu Hydroelectric project in the upper east region and another one in Juale in the northern region. However and surprisingly, the Pwalugu project was deleted from the government’s major policy statement for 2010 called the Budget Statement and Economic Policies.

In 2011, according to page 6 of a publication of government’s Top 50 Achievements, the government under the full watch and supervision of His Excellency, Prof. Mills and his vice diverted and converted $250 million being half of the loan from the Brazilian government for construction of a different project at the Eastern Corridor. The signals from this development point to the fact that the two hydro-electric power projects to be executed in northern Ghana have been abandoned. By this action, government and parliament owe the people of Ghana an explanation on when the Eastern Corridor’s project was approved in parliament.

Again, it is common knowledge that the 4-year social contract between the NDC and the people of northern Ghana in the 2008 elections was to immediately and urgently set up Savannah Accelerated Development Authority with initial seed capital of GHC200 million and annual contribution of GHC100 million for 20 years. As a matter of fact , not even a quarter of the contract has been executed yet sadly enough not even a single bold and objective-minded MP from the north made any strong case for government to deliver its part of the contract

What is also quite shocking is the fact that the approved loan of $3 billion from China is meant to finance a number of major development projects in the country with no mention of a single project taking place in northern Ghana yet no northern MP on the floor of parliament thought it wise drawing government’s attention to it . Indeed it was sad to see most northern MPs very excited in the massive voice vote for the loan without pausing to think of whether or not their constituents will benefit from the facility which is to be paid back by all Ghanaians in the foreseeable future.

Undisputedly, the visible failure of the northern MPs to push for the $3 billion loan facility to include projects in the north, their silence on inadequate budgetary allocation to SADA multiplied by their failure to stop government from diverting and converting funds meant for the two energy projects in the north are clear manifestations of the fact that they are in parliament for a different agenda rather than championing the development of northern Ghana and the interest of their constituents.

Also, the failure of the executive arm of government headed by the father-for –all President to, in the name of love for all, responsibly consider allocating a reasonable sum of money from this huge loan facility to finance SADA projects is not only an imitation of his predecessor’s life in the Millennium Challenge Accounts (MCA) experience and of course a confirmation of NORPRA’s long standing position that the lack of practical commitment to the SADA initiative is not a question of inadequate resources but clearly deepens the feelings of most Ghanaians that the SADA programme and for that matter northern Ghana development is simply more of a joke than a priority of the Mills/Mahamah led administration.

We conclude by reassuring all members of parliament from northern Ghana of our great commitment to ensuring that they suffer the penalty for not doing enough in the struggle for an accelerated development of northern Ghana. Signed Ayorogo Adongo Bismark (President) 0246 06 75 64

Government is contracting two tranches loan agreement to tune of $3.00 billion which had two sets of agreements.

The loan facility, which is one of the biggest in recent time, is to finance projects such as Accra Plains Irrigation Project Phase 1 covering 5000 hectares, Coastal Fishing Habours and Landing sites projects, East Corridor Multi-modal projects with Volta Lake facility components, Western Corridor gas infrastructure project, Phase one of the Takoradi Petroleum Terminal project and Western Corridor oil Enclave Toll Road development project Parliament has approved the controversial $3 billion dollar loan agreement between the Government of Ghana and the China Development Bank (CDB) despite objections from the Minority.

Citi News Parliamentary Correspondent Richard Sky reports the motion was passed by voice vote. The Minority abstained.

There was fiery debate on the floor of Parliament a day after Minority MPs successfully blocked debate on the loan agreement, citing the need to thoroughly read a revised version of the earlier agreement, which was laid yesterday. $3 billion loan from Chinese government for infrastructural development in Ghana. $1.8 billion going to W/R

It is stated in page 6 of the Top 50 Achievements of the Mills led administration that “the Brazilian $250 million credit facility which was initially meant for the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Oti River has been converted to the construction of part of the Eastern Corridor” The Daily Graphic on the 5th of November,2008 carried a story under the heading “House approves loan agreement for power projects” It stated that “the construction of the Pwalugu Hydroelectric Scheme on the White Volta in the UE/R is expected to add 50 megawatts to Ghana’s energy production, while that of the Juale in the northern region on the Oti River is expected to generate 90 megawatts. The loan is $ 500m and government is to provide $55m making total of $555m.