Volta has suffered too long from politics of lies and deceit

Kete-Krachi (V/R), Nov. 24, GNA - Vice President Aliu Mahama has urged the people of the Volta Region to open their hearts and accept the positive partnership of the Kufuor Administration, saying they had been victims of politics of lies and deceit for too long.

He said even though they kept faith with the previous administration for many years and rejected the New Patriotic Party, they did not receive their fair share of the national cake. Vice President Mahama was addressing separate durbars at Kete-Krachi and Banda in the Krachi West District to kick-start his campaign tour of the Volta Region, on Tuesday.

He told the people that the NPP Administration was determined to do business with them and, therefore, required their partnership to move the region ahead.

"Over the past four years, the difference between this Administration and the previous one has been clear," he said. "As you have pointed out yourself, Nana, you have been provided with road projects, educational facilities, water, telecommunication, infrastructure and many more."

These projects, he said, should only be considered as the beginning of the good things to come because "The Kufuor Administration will return stronger and better resourced after the December polls to perform even much better."

Both the Krachiwura, Nana Mprah Besomuna II, and the Chief of Banda, Nana Okuminteh II, had praised the NPP Administration for executing numerous projects in their areas, in their welcoming address, and pledged the support of their people to it.

Vice President Mahama said the state of the national purse when it was inherited by the Kufuor Administration could be described as "receiving a dud cheque" and explained that the situation made it difficult to move the developmental process at an appreciable rate.

However, he said, over the past years, the Government had strengthened the financial status of the nation through good governance and the implementation of prudent financial policies and programmes. He assured the people of Krachi that their road project would be completed while their request for a dam would be considered in addition to the provision of boreholes - driven by windmills that are being introduced for irrigation.

On a request from the Krachiwura that the Krachi West District Assembly should receive its Common Fund and HIPC benefit fund from the Ghana Commercial Bank branch at Kete-Krachi instead of the NIB branch of Ho, the Vice President said the request was in order but added the people should work for a rural bank to be established in their area. The chief had explained that taking the money from Ho was denying the Commercial Bank, which was the sole bank in the area, the requisite fund for investment activities locally.

Vice President Mahama also assured the people of Krachi that their demand for the Ministry of Ports, Harbours and Railways to assist the Volta Lake Transport Company to refurbish a pontoon to facilitate their transportation to commercial towns would be addressed.

Nana Besomuna III, Krachiwura had earlier described the scale and speed at which development projects were being implemented in the area under the current Administration as unprecedented.

They had been given educational facilities, the town roads were being tarred, they have been provided with potable water and many more, he said.

"These projects are more meaningful than empty promises and slogans," he pointed out.

The Vice President accepted a suggestion from the Krachiwura to inspect work on the upgrading of the Krachi Secondary School into a model institution.

The chief complained that only two of the nine contractors working on the 16 billion-cedi project were on track.

Vice President Mahama, who was conducted round the project later with Mr. Thomas Ababio, Headmaster of the School, expressed disappointment at the slow rate at which most of the projects, expected to have been completed by the end of the month, were moving.

Two dormitory blocks were still at the foundation level. He told the Headmaster to write a report on the situation and deliver it to the Regional Minister for a meeting to be scheduled with the contractors and the relevant institutions.

The Vice President cautioned the DCE against paying for work that had not been done, saying he would be surcharged should that happen. He said the Ministry of Education would bring the defaulting contractors, some of whom were said to have abandoned the project after receiving payment for mobilisation, to book.

"If you fail to perform, the future of the students, who should be beneficiaries of quality education suffers, the nation suffers and we all suffer with it," he stressed.

He said he had reported the poor performance of some contractors working on similar projects in the Upper West and East Regions to the Minister of Education and he had initiated action on it. The Vice President, who would be in the region for two days, addressed a durbar at Damanko in the Nkwanta District and introduced Mr. Joseph Denteh, NPP's parliamentary candidate for Nkwanta South and asked for their mandate for him.