News:
June 9, 2020
Ranking Member on Road and Transport, Govern Kwame Agbodza has pointed out that President Nana Akufo-Addo is trying to ignore the solid contribution of former President John Mahama when it comes to infrastructure development of the country.
According to him the opposition National Democratic Congress is a party of infrastructure and Akufo-Addo cannot match the record of former President John Mahama.
He further pointed out in a briefing with journalists in Parliament that for the past four years the current administration has not been up to the task when it comes to social infrastructure in education, health, transport or aviation.
“The President suspended all cocoa roads pretending that those projects were awarded wrongly, others said wrongly inflated, whiles others said they did not exist; four years down the line they have not been able to produce a report despite they paid dollars to get a committee to produce a report”.
He challenged the media to demand the audit report on the cocoa sector roads and share with the Ghanaian public.
He further added that former President John Mahama sought help from the Japanese government in 2015 and got a grant for the construction of the Tema Motorway Roundabout which needed not come to Parliament for approval.
In his last state of the nation address and manifesto, the project could not be stopped as it has nothing to do with the current administration.
Mr. Agbodza placed on record that there is a very worrying practice by President Nana Akufo-Addo where he ignores the contribution of his predecessor, with the sod cutting for the Kumasi Airport project.
Again, the previous government envision building of six lanes on the motorway roundabout which was part of the Meridian Ports and Services project and the current administration did not carry it out; they were rather looking for a concessioner, hence the project is in “abeyance”.
In addition, he pointed out Article 35 (7) which says it is the responsibility of every government to continue a project started by the previous government and there is nothing wrong for President Akufo-Addo to continue with projects started by former President John Mahama.
“Former President John Agyekum Kufuor started the Bui dam and did not complete it but was actually built by the NDC government we are honest people, have you heard any NDC person say they initiated it?”
He added that President Akufo-Addo should be straight forward with Ghanaians and acknowledge the works of former President Mahama as he commissioned the Tema Motorway Roundabout.
The Sinohydro project envisaged by the current administration, he noted that, they came to Parliament, he predicted that it would amount to nothing , hence no one should blame the inability of the project to started on COVID -19.
“Sinohydro collapsed before COVID-19 and how many of the critical projects have been done, the President has failed the road sector, his hope on the one point six billon cedi road fund unfortunately he took two point two billion cedis for the four years instead of allowing that money to be used in paying the contractors to do more projects”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com