Akufo Addo lied about $51.5m Jambussi water project - NDC

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is accusing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of trying to take the glory for a project initiated and completed by his predecessor John Dramani Mahama.

President Akufo-Addo as part of his two-day visit to the Upper West region, commissioned the $51.5 million Jambussi water project which was constructed with a facility from the Korean Exim Bank, to supply 3.3 million gallons of water per day to the 100,705 residents of Wa.

According to him, the project was began “at the time of the great Ghanaian leader, John Agyekum Kufuor.”

The President noted that “it was in his (President Kufuor’s) time that the financing for this project was secured, as far back as 2008. But, unfortunately, after he left [office in 2008], it took five years under the NDC successor governments before the construction of the project began.”

President Akufo-Addo added that “God has his own way of doing things. A project that was begun by Kufuor is going to be commissioned by Akufo-Addo. That is the way the Almighty works.”

But the opposition NDC disagreed with the claims the project is the brainchild of the NDC according to its upper West Regional Communications Officer, Issah Kantagyere.

“The project was jointly funded by the Korean Exim bank and the NDC Government to be constructed over a period of 36 months. Kolon Pyunghwa Limited of South Korea was the company that undertook the construction.

Prior to the Wa Water project, the NDC Government had secured a $5.8 million World Bank facility to improve the supply of water to Wa town and its environs which saw an increase of the ground water supply to about 700,000 gallons of water a day from the initial inadequate 300,000 gallons of water a day. All this were deliberate attempts made by the Ex while NDC government to replace the old water supply system which has been in existence since 1952”

Read full text of their response to the claim

PRESS RELEASE BY THE UPPER WEST REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS TEAM: UNTRUTHFULL PRONOUNCIATIONS BY H.E. NANA AKUFO ADDO AT THE COMMISISONING OF THE WA WATER PROJECT AT JAMBUSI

03/10/2017

Ladies and Gentlemen, as part of the rich culture of Africa, truthfulness is admired and encouraged. Parents are required to bring up their children and instill in them the character of truthfulness. It came to us as a shock when the first gentleman of the land dabbled in lies and epitomized ingratitude.

Not only were the people of Jambusi, a rural community in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region shocked, they were also disappointed in the President’s ability to lie between his teeth and still look unworried. He stated at the commissioning of the $51.5 million Wa Water Project at Jambusi that the project was started by Ex-while Kuffour Administration and he was happy to be the one commissioning it. This is yet another desperate attempt at rewriting the history of Ghana, the goal of NPP on the few occasions they’ve assumed political leadership of this Country Ghana.

FACT

The $51.54 million 3.3 million gallons per Day Wa water project was occasioned by the NDC administration. The sod cutting was done by HE John Dramani Mahama in February 2013 for works to start, five clear years after the NPP lost power to the Late President Mills in 2008. During the execution of the project, then Korean ambassador to Ghana, Lyeo Woom-ki, visited the Region and inspected ongoing works in the company of the Exim Bank of Korea representative, Yu Jeonseon. The project was jointly funded by the Korean Exim bank and the NDC Government to be constructed over a period of 36 months. Kolon Pyunghwa Limited of South Korea was the company that undertook the construction.

Prior to the Wa Water project, the NDC Government had secured a $5.8 million World Bank facility to improve the supply of water to Wa town and its environs which saw an increase of the ground water supply to about 700,000 gallons of water a day from the initial inadequate 300,000 gallons of water a day. All this were deliberate attempts made by the Ex while NDC government to replace the old water supply system which has been in existence since 1952.

Fellow Ghanaians, our President has lied and this time in a more profound way. The speech writer of the president, Mr. Eugene Arhin in mind, should not be used as the scape goat this time. The fact is that we have a president who simply doesn’t know the facts of his country’s development or he simply has an increasing and unflinching appetite for peddling falsehood, baseless, unwarranted, misguided and distorted truths to unduly favor his political linage.

Our President is either sleeping or is been misled on his job and needs to be woken up.

When will the president start leading with good examples?

When will the president and his Vice start being truthful to Ghanaians?

When will the Bussia/Dankwa tradition stop their attempts at rewriting the history of Ghana?

When will the NPP start giving credit where it is due?

Ladies and gentlemen, we join the people of Upper West and the entire Ghana in condemning in no uncertain terms this disgraceful act by the number one “Gentleman” of the land. The beneficiaries of the project are very grateful to the John Mahama led NDC government for addressing their water supply needs in such a comprehensive and profound manner. They are a people who show gratitude and will surely do that come 2020.

Ladies and gentlemen, we equally join hands in sympathizing with the bereaved family of the young man who lost his life at Jambusi where the President showed up to commission the NDC water project. As you are all aware, it has become a “ritual” in recent times for people losing their lives whenever H.E Nana Addo or the NPP visits this region for any of their political activities. At Jambusi, a young man by name Aziz from Tanina got drowned and lost his life simply because Nana Addo visited. This loss of lives must be prevented at all cost because “all die no be die”. A family will have to suffer the grief of losing a love one on each occasion Nana Addo or the NPP visits the region. He assumed the reigns of this country to protect lives and not to be the reason why people will die. The NPP must act swiftly to stop this “ritual” occurrence. May the soul of Mr. Kwabena Boadu and other departed souls, who lost their lives to NPP activities before, during and after 2016 elections, rest in perfect peace.

Ladies and gentlemen, kindly permit us to ask Nana Addo and the NPP some basic questions:

? Where did they (NPP) secure the funding from?

? How much did they secure?

? Where did they keep the money after they lost power to the NDC in 2008?

Conclusively, we want to emphatically state that the Wa Water Project commissioned by H.E Nana Addo is the brain child and sweat of the John Mahama led NDC government and any attempt to rewrite its history won’t be accepted. We call on the President to apologize to the good people of the Upper West Region for comfortably lying to them. This amounts to belittling the intelligence of the people by laying claim to what they have not worked for. We as a people must begin to reject the politics of deceit and lies which has become the modus operandi and unenviable trademark of the Nana/Bawumia Led NPP Government.

Thank You

……….Signed……….

Issah Kantagyere

Reg. Comm. Officer