The grand deception of $1m per constituency promise in Savannah Region

In the run up to the 2016 general election, not only did candidate Nana Addo then went for a deceptive rebranding that made him look like a peace-lover, but he and his hype man went promising depending upon the atmosphere, place, the euphoria that greeted their introduction or response to the then government’s programs and deliverables.

So, Dr Bawumia could promise 1V1D in the Upper East Region at a time HE John Mahama went to commission the Tamne dam and had put together a plan to set up Agric Mechanization Centres which were going to operate as hubs for irrigation facilities and other Agric related activities. This was aimed at making Agric more commercial as we inch towards the “real” middle income status. This promise by Dr Bawumia was never discussed and captured as an NPP plan which is why today, it’s implementation scam is weightier than a Ponzi scheme.

All the other mouthwatery promises were mostly made as though they were dreams. Talk about 1D1F, $1M per constituency per year and the countless slogans they couched to woo and cajole Ghanaians into believing that JM was the devil himself while Nana Addo was the rebranded Messiah. Do you wonder why implementation of most of these have taken different shapes and narratives with excuses as their printed preambles?

HE Dr Bawumia made a serious revelation somewhere in the Central Region in late 2017 or so, to the effect that the people (taxpayers) must follow up and ensure their share of the $1m per constituency was paid if not they (government officials) will spend the money in Accra. Most of us didn’t get the drift until when we were subsequently told by same government that the $1m per constituency was not going to be paid to the constituencies direct but will be used to set up Development Authorities (DAs) and they (DAs) will engage in direct delivery of unsolicited projects to the constituencies.

Meanwhile, the promise as made was that these constituencies were going to undertake their own local projects with their relative development needs as the key drivers. What we have now is that, that waste of a Ministry of Special Initiatives in an air-conditioned Office in Accra, decides to build KVIPs in constituencies that needs more of markets and schools.

The last striking development as we are witnessing in some constituencies in Gonjaland is that, Parliamentary Candidates who are technically private citizens and have no locus whatsoever in the administration of either a constituency or a District are given the Cheques of the $1m per constituency to go round to grace official government ceremonies of sod cutting and are those to decide which contractor execute which project. Well, don’t forget about a possible 10% cut, because in the words of Prof Frimpong Boateng...”The party (NPP) needs money”.

It was done in the Bole-Bamboi Constituency by the NPP Parliamentary Candidate. Surprisingly, the DCE for the District, Hon Alele is alive, active and ready to do her official duties, but orders from above have shut her down for the NPP Parliamentary Candidate, Mr David Sei Demah to now grace official ceremonies of sod cutting, directing projects executions, monitoring and the possible authority to decide what happens next. Is that how HE Nana Addo has reduced governance to? Is uncle Sally goes to cut sod for such projects in the Salaga South Constituency, who born me to raise any alarm?

Not too far away, I have again chanced on another flyer advertising the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba Constituency, Mr Bonasco Seidu Nuhu, to carry out same exercise in that constituency. I know the shadow is drawing closer to my own constituency, Damongo. What I can assure all of you is that, in the case of Damongo, the order won’t come from above but from the Parliamentary Candidate himself who we are told wield the political power that can make it rain in a sunny day in Damongo Constituency.

In Damongo, It happened in the past with rural electrification projects which were started by the JM-led NDC government in 2015, but unfortunately had their lifespan traveled into the NPP regime. These projects were deliberately delayed to give a certain narrative. In the end the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Damongo Constituency was the one who went round to commission them and made some very unfortunate statements in the process which we will discuss someday. Well, that is the color of the NPP government.

Is it not interesting, that in the full view of the unsuspecting Ghanaian, the NPP government is practically demonstrating how they care not about due process and administrative protocols? In the first place, the promise has not been delivered as per the supposed substance of it. By now, we should be talking about $4m worth of cash or in infrastructure projects in each constituency. This has not been the case, yet the remains that are being thrown at us are also coming with such shameless gymnastics. Mind you, “YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF TIME BUT NOT ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME.