Ghana will develop faster without Mahama – Boakye Agyarko

The Republic of Ghana will develop three times faster than it is doing today if President John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are shown the exit from government in the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections, Boakye Agyarko, Policy Adviser to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Adddo, the New Patriotic Party (NPPP) flag bearer, has said.

According to him, President Mahama’s government has borrowed billions of dollars but with very little infrastructure and other forms of development to show for it, a situation which requires that it should be shown the exit.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Monday September 19, Mr Agayrko said: “(President) Mahama and his government should let Ghanaians know what the NDC has got to show for the billions of dollars it has borrowed in our (Ghanaians’) name.

“In actual fact, the NPP strongly believes Ghana can and will develop and redevelop three times as fast if we got rid of President Mahama and the NDC this December. This anecdote illustrates why we feel strongly that Mahama at the helm slows our development. On November 8, 2015, the GNA reported that the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Laryea Afotey Agbo, together with the Kpone Katamanso District Assembly, had inaugurated a six-unit classroom block, with dual desks, at Katamanso Presbyterian School at the cost of GHS510,000. ??

“Twenty days later, on November 28, the GNA reported that the MTN Ghana Foundation had inaugurated a fully-furnished six-unit classroom block, an office, and a store at a total cost of GHS 170,000 for the Asikasu Methodist Basic School in the Upper West Akyem district of the Eastern Region. ?

“What this tells us is that the private sector can build schools at three times less than the Mahama government. This means that for every school built by the Mahama government, three schools could have been built for the same amount.

“If the choice then is between President Mahama and MTN or an incorruptible leader like Nana Akufo-Addo, who will provide Ghanaians value for their money, who should Ghanaians choose? It is clear that Mahama and his government have eaten greatly into the education sector budget through corrupt schemes that have neither protected the public purse nor given Ghanaians value for money.

“How many more teachers could have been employed if three schools had been built instead of one? How many children would have had a shorter walk to school because a school had been built closer to their homes? How many more communities would have benefitted from three schools instead of one?”

According to Mr Agyarko, corruption exists in virtually every sector. “Today, under Mahama, Ghana is spending $1.4 million per km to asphalt roads, against the African average of $600,000. (Source; Study on Road Infrastructure Costs: Analysis of unit costs and cost overruns of road infrastructure projects in Africa –– AfDB Chief Economist’s Report, 2014).

“Here is another example why the NDC has achieved so very little with so much. The NDC has presented loans to parliament to build 12 district hospitals at the cost of $40 million each. President Kufuor built district hospitals at $13 million. The NDC’s pricing of infrastructure defies any costing principles and will soon make its way into the Guinness Book of Records.”