My searchlight is on NDC/Mahama capital investment decisions. What at all do NDC mean? What are they telling Ghanaians in terms of investment opportunities and decisions? Are we going to sit down for NDC to operate a queer voodoo tribal development just to favour Volta Region? NDC are wasting our resources.
Talk of the mindboggling GH¢1.2 billion which has been sunk into GYEEDA tomfoolery in the last 3 years and President Mahama is tells us his cabinet is not aware of this allocation. At the same time, almost GH¢2 billion has been pumped into payment of dubious judgement debts in the same period. Again we are told by the uncaring President John Mahama that his cabinet still knew nothing about these dubious payments which are out and out wanton dissipation of scarce public funds. And Ghanaians accept such puerile explanations in the name of peace. We are yet to recover from these sharp piercing wounds NDC have heartlessly inflicted on Ghanaians. Yet still, NDC are rubbing more pepper in our wounds and creating the situations and taking still some horrible and lop-sided investment decisions such that if discerning minds criticise on the basis of broad based national project value, their impact and cost/benefit analysis, then it will appear they don’t like Volta Region.
In the running news item early this week;- ‘’ the government has made available the cedi equivalent of $200 million for the payment of ongoing capital projects in various sectors of the economy to ensure their completion. The amount is part of the $740 million Eurobond proceeds that have been deposited in the country’s foreign reserve account. This means that the GH¢400 million has been moved from the reserve account into the Consolidated Fund, ready for effecting payments for work done. The Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper, who confirmed this to the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra yesterday, explained that financing the projects would be effected upon the adducing of certificates of work done by contractors. The projects include the gang of six, comprising the Tetteh-Quarshie-Madina road, the Sofoline Overpass in Kumasi, the Anyinam-Konongo-Nkawkaw bypass, the Ho-Fumey road and the Asankragua-Enchi road.-----------‘
By the nature of Eurobonds, nations which benefit have to do prudent investments with the facility in order to get quicker returns to make smoother the debt redemptions in future. So we expect NDC to do objective National project development assessments in capital investments to achieve maximum economic benefits. This is where I am not happy with the NDC. They are not doing proper needs assessment as far as the ongoing capital road projects are concerned. I think ethnocentric factors are clouding their thoughts concerning utilization of the Eurobonds. If NDC is doing proper national integrated development the Nsawam –Suhum-Apedwa road on which almost 20,000 vehicles ply daily is the most importanttrunk road in the country and its early construction should be the number one priority. Motorists have suffered on this bad road which becomes almost impassable during the rainy season, for so long – such that I shudder to think what sort of development economics that President Mahama and his govt has done all these years to relegate to the background this major road in the Eurobond projects scheme of things and rather consider a road like Ho-Fumey road which barely takes 100 vehicles in a day.
I consider the prioritization of Ho-Fumey road over Nsawam-Suhum-Apedwa road as criminally vindictive and that President John Mahama government has no business staying in power any longer because his govt has displayed crass incompetence, lopsidedness and insensitivity to the needs of the people.
Several ongoing projects like Suhum-Asamankese Road, Nkawkaw-Atibie Road, Yamoransa- Anwhiankwanta Road, Bolgatanga-Tumu Road, Akim Oda-Akenkasu -Assin Foso Road, Praso- Dunkwa Road and Bogoso-Prestea-Samreboi Road amongst others are economically more important and need to be completed quickly No one is against the development of Ho -Fumey road but in terms of economic priorities only NDC/Mahama understand why they should prioritize it over the Nsawam –Suhum-Apedwa Road and others. Is Volta Region just being pampered in the name of galamsey politics?
