Mills cannot take credit for our projects - NPP

Sunyani, April 11, GNA - The Brong Ahafo Regional office of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Monday claimed that there was deliberate and consistent attempts by the government to claim ownership of projects initiated and completed under the NPP administration. The party said the ploy was aimed ostensibly to win votes of the electorate in the 2012 general election.

"It was important for the purposes of reminding the good people of the region of the NPP's unparalleled avowed commitment to the development of the region," says a statement read at a press conference in Sunyani.

Mr Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, Regional Chairman of the party, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani West and Mr Paul Okoh, MP for Asutifi and Chairman of the NPP Parliamentary caucus took turns to set the records straight on development projects in the area.

Mr Asomah-Cheremeh cited that an administration block for Techiman Municipal Assembly, which was 95 per cent completed as far back as 2008 was recently inaugurated by President John Evans Mills. At Kwame-Danso, capital of Sene District, the government had also sought to claim glory on a six classroom block constructed under the NPP administration, he added.

On educational infrastructure, Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said Brong Ahafo was the second region in terms of benefitting from the huge NPP National School Feeding Programme.

He said at the exit of the NPP administration all the 22 districts in the region were covered under the programme, adding that more than 100 basic, second cycle and tertiary educational institutions also benefited from the then government's educational improvement programme.

Mr Asomah-Cheremeh mentioned the massive infrastructure out-look at the Sunyani Polytechnic and the upgrading of the then School of Forestry into a full University faculty under Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

He explained that the development agenda for the Sunyani campus of the KNUST was to turn the faculty into a fully blown autonomous university and cited the huge students' hostel at Fiapre, near Sunyani, as a clear testimony of such a long held plan.

"It leaves little wonder why the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would want to claim that they have brought a university for the people of Brong Ahafo, this is because the Kufuor administration had all the paper work completed at the exit of the NPP administration", Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said.

He said in the feasibility studies conducted in 2005, the government planned to establish a medical school in the region with the regional hospital as a teaching school with faculty support from the Sunyani campus of the KNUST.

"If the NDC had changed all these plans and now want to establish a University of Natural Resources then they should make meaning of their words and let us see real development on that site that the President cut the sod for the project", the regional chairman added. Additionally, Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said, the three training colleges in the region namely: St Joseph at Bechem, Berekum College of Education and Atebubu College of Education, equally benefited from massive infrastructure as well as donation of vehicles for both students and faculty members.

He said the Tanoso Community Health, Sunyani Nurses Training and the Health Assistants Training Schools in Sunyani were all established under the NPP administration, including the expansion works at the Holy Family Midwifery and Nursing Training School in Berekum.

Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said six second cycle schools benefited from the model school policy.

In this regard, GH¢ 1.6 million was injected into the Asuogyaman Senior High School SHS, Drobo; Bechem; Hwidiem; Wenchi, and Kukuom SHS, he said.

He said aside from the model schools, as many as 30 SHS also enjoyed great improvement in infrastructure including Our Lady of Fatima SHS at Kwasi-Bourkrom, Wamfie SHS, Tuobodom SHS and Amantin SHS.

Others were Acherensua SHS, Bomaa SHS, Boakye Tromo SHS at Duayaw-Nkwanta, Yamfo SHS, Bomaa SHS, Ahafo Mim SHS, Techiman SHS, Chiraa SHS, Nsoatre Notre Dame SHS and Atebubu SHS, among others. Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said in addition 30 buses and 10 pickup vehicles were distributed to 30 SHS in the region.

On electrification, the regional chairman stated that as far as 2005, 112 major communities in the region were hooked onto the National Electricity Grid under the NPP administration. It was during this time that communities such as Atronie and Atuahenekrom, Sankore, Akrodie, Ayomso, Bediako, Mehame, Dadiesoaba and Nkaseim were connected to the national grid, Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said.

On roads, he said the Techiman-Kintampo road was asphalted by the NPP whilst the Sunyani-Atronie-Acherensua, Botokrom-Drobo-Sampa, Wenchi-Nsawkaw, Wenchi-Bamboi as well as Nkoranza-Ejura and Nkoranza-Sekyeredomase roads were all constructed and tarred under the NPP administration.

Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said the first phase of the Dormaa-Nkrankwanta, Nobekaw-Sankore, Bediako-Kasapin and Techimantia-Derma roads were upgraded under the same regime. On water and sanitation, Baffour-Awuah said under the NPP administration, communities in Suma-Ahenkro, Sampa, Dwenen, Mim, Akrodie, Sankore, Kukuom, Jinijini, Koraso/Kantanka, Yeji, New Kokompe and Bomaa among others benefited from more than 2,000 boreholes. The MP said before its exit from power, the NPP also contracted a loan of 20 million euros for the provision of Small Town Water System, drilling of extra boreholes and provision of institutional latrine from the French Agency for Development for the region.

Mr Asomah-Cheremeh said it was also under the NPP government that the Ahafo Mine of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited at Kenyasi came into being with an investment of 450 million dollars, as well as the construction of the Bui Dam project that had changed the economic status of the people in the region. 11 April 11