Akufo-Addo was right in ‘Ghost Project’ comment – NPP

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Brong Ahafo Region has jumped to the defence of President Nana Akufo-Addo for saying former president John Mahama embarked on ghost projects while he was President.

According to the NPP’s Director of Communications for the Brong Ahafo Region, Asare-Bediako Seth, who spoke on the Morning Xpress on Radio XYZ 93.1MHZ, the former President did not embark on massive projects as the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government told Ghanaians before leaving office.

To him, the President was “fair” when he said most of the projects touted by the erstwhile government led by Mr Mahama were nonexistent.

A response to the President’s claim, via a press statement signed by the former President’s aide, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, did not only describe Mr Akufo-Addo’s claims as “false” but also emphasised that it was “regrettable” that President Akufo-Addo “failed to exhibit candour in his speech” to the Chiefs and people of Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region despite an “overwhelming evidence of the massive investment made in the provision of various projects for the people of Ghana” under Mr Mahama’s administration.

But the NPP communicator said the former president could not complete many of the road projects he started.

“There is a ring road here in Sunyani, they (NDC) came out to tell everybody that the road was going to be completed in October 2016. My brother, we are in 2018, come and see if these roads have been done,” he told Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe, the host of the show.

He also mentioned a dual carriage road between the Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital and New Dormaa on the Sunyani – Techiman highway that the erstwhile government could not complete before leaving office.

Mr Asare-Bediako also mentioned the Fetentaa -Drobo road on the Berekum – Sampa highway which is in a deplorable state after the previous government initiated construction work on that stretch but failed to complete it within the given time. “Sampa – Drobo road, these people (NDC) used it as a camouflage. As at now, the people of Sampa area are very annoyed with the NDC because of what they did,” he said

stressing that although , the capital of Jaman North was a stronghold for the NDC since 1992, the party lost both the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2016 because the government of Mr Mahama failed to tar the dusty roads in the area.

However, the assertions made by Asare Bediako were refuted by former Roads and Highways minister, Inusah Fuseini, who said Mr Akufo-Addo was rather engaging in needless rhetoric rather than demonstrating “how better he can perform” to add to what the Mahama administration did for Ghanaians.

He said the ruling NPP had announced that GHS100 million was pumped into the road sector to construct new roads, but they have not been able to construct roads. He wondered what the government had done with a GHS400 million earmarked in the 2017 budget by the Ministry of Finance for infrastructure development.

“The question we want to ask and what we should be interested in is to knowing what the NPP has done since they came into office in 2017. That is very important and critical for the people of Ghana to assess the performance of the NPP,” he told Neil.

He said the NPP had not added “a single kilometre” of road to the existing roads in the Brong Ahafo Region, therefore the president was wrong in condemning the former president in a region where he invested massively in infrastructure development.