Former Deputy Minister of Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu
A former Deputy Minister of Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has described as untrue, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s claim that no government in the history of Ghana’s fourth republic has initiated more infrastructural projects than the Akufo-Addo government.
Dr Bawumia described his government’s achievements as “second to none, with verifiable data to back up my claim”.
However, Mr Kwakye Ofosu told Benjamin Akakpo on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Wednesday, 19 August 2020 that: “First of all, it is completely false that the NPP has more achievements in infrastructure than the NDC, it’s simply false”.
He said: “It is obvious that the NPP has come under intense pressure over the last few two years to demonstrate what it has done with all the resources that it has had at its disposal.
“Indeed, we estimate that since resuming office, President Akufo-Addo has had access to about GHS300 billion and Ghanaians have been unable to match it with any achievement that would warrant the receipt of that kind of insult”.
According to him, all that money was from “oil revenue, tax revenue, borrowing, grants and what have you”.
“So, if you put all together, we estimate that about GHS300 billion has come into the national coffers since President Akufo-Addo took office.
However, Mr Kwakye Ofosu told Benjamin Akakpo on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Wednesday, 19 August 2020 that: “First of all, it is completely false that the NPP has more achievements in infrastructure than the NDC, it’s simply false”.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu, who is also the NDC’s parliamentary candidate for Abura Asebu Kwamankese in the Central Region, said: “Indeed, they [NPP] go as far as claiming that they have done more by way of capital investment or infrastructure in four years than the NDC did in eight years”.
However, he noted, “watching the programme yesterday, it is obvious to me, and I believe I speak for many Ghanaians, that they were unable to achieve that objective of showing that they have done more than the NDC because the evidence you saw, comes nowhere near what the NDC has done in all the sectors highlighted by Vice President Bawumia yesterday”.
In his presentation on Tuesday, Dr Bawumia, among other things, said: “The investment in infrastructure by the NPP government over the last three years has been massive”, adding: “I dare say our investment in infrastructure, our infrastructure record is second to none for any government in its first term under the Fourth Republic”.
He said: “Notwithstanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the completion times of some projects, the data indicates that in the fourth republic, no government has achieved as much in its first term of office in terms of infrastructure projects it initiated its first term as the NPP government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.”
The Vice President said in three-and-a-half years, the Akufo-Addo administration has implemented different infrastructure programmes across various sectors in line with the government’s agenda to ensure inclusive and accelerated economic development.
As a result, he noted, “about 17,334 individual projects have been started since January 2017. We have completed a total number of 8,746 projects throughout the country. A further 8,588 projects are at different stages of completion throughout the country”.
“This is consistent with our strategic orientation to ensure the development of broad-base, wide-scale infrastructure, taking place in every district across the country instead of a few big infrastructure projects in a few cities.”
Dr Bawumia revealed that a total of 1,927 road projects have been undertaken across the country since 2017.
Out of that, 1,307 of them are completed while 620 are currently under construction.
The government, he noted, “has selected three critical roads in every region. Work is ongoing on all these critical roads and are at various stages of completion, including the famous Eastern Corridor road, for example Jasikan-Dodo-Pepesu road, Bolga-Bawku (80% complete) and Lawra-Hamile (complete)”.
“In the urban areas, across the country, since the beginning of 2017, we have done 589 km of Asphalt Overlay, rehabilitating and upgrading of 143.61 km of roads, reconstruction of 97.8 km and resealing of 48.82 km of roads across the country.
“Four state-of-the-art interchanges are also under construction: The Tema Interchange, where the loan, sod-cutting and completion were executed by this government; Tamale interchange under the Sinohydro Programme, the first-ever interchange in the northern sector of the country (44% complete and expected to be completed by the middle of 2021); Pokuase interchange (the first four-tier interchange in West Africa – 75% complete.
“The, loan agreement for this (Pokuase interchange) project was signed in November 2016 for a three-tier interchange. We subsequently renegotiated for a four-tier interchange without any increase in cost.
“The Obetsebi Lamptey interchange is 55% complete. As well, the sod has just been cut for the Nungua Interchange.
“This is the highest number of interchanges (5) being constructed in the first term of any government since independence. A sixth interchange, the PTC interchange in Takoradi (the first interchange in the Western Region) will start in early September.”
“It is important to note that the cost of the Tema, Pokuase, Tamale, and Obetsebi Lamptey interchanges total $289 million while the Kwame Nkrumah interchange was constructed at a cost of $270 million”, Dr Bawumia contrasted.
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