Dr Gideon Boako – Obrempong-Nana Kwaku Ampomah

So I have listened to another failed attempt by the NDC to throw shade at government after they failed to respond constructively to the challenge thrown by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

This time around they made reference to a 2nd March 2016 comment by Dr. Bawumia that ‘Mahama cannot take credit for ending dumsor’. Their aim was to suggest that the NDC ended dumsor before exiting power.

For the avoidance of doubt and clarity, Dr. Bawumia made that statement after Mr. Mahama who was President of the country had delivered a State of the Nation Address in Parliament on 25th February, 2016 and ridden on the ephemeral stability in the power sector to suggest that dumsor was over.

But guess what happened in April and beyond after Dr. Bawumia had made that statement on the back of Mr. Mahama’s claim.

First, reference could be made to a report on 30th June 2016 on Graphic online by Daniel K. Kenu under the headline: “We are not out of dumsor yet – President Mahama”.

The body of the story was attributed to Mr. Mahama when he met the Council of Christian Churches in Kumasi as part of his ‘Accounting to the People Tour’. Here he blamed the prolonged dumsor on the non-supply of gas from neighboring Nigeria to feed thermal plants as a result of sabotage which had led to the shutdown of the Asogli power plant.

Second, a Citinewsroom story filed on 22 July, 2016 quoted Mr. Samuel Tetteh Agbetor, Chairman of the Western Regional Workers’ Union of ECG as having said President Mahama was sitting on dumsor timetable. The story was headlined “Mahama sitting on dumsor timetable – ECG workers”.

Third, to show that dumsor was still existing even at the time this government came to power in 2017, I’ll refer you to a Ghanaweb story gleaned from Peace FM on 2nd March 2017 that quotes Mr. Ofosu Ampofo, then Director of Elections of the NDC and now their National Chairman. The story was headlined: “Mahama would have ended dumsor if NDC was retained” – Ofosu Ampofo.

Mr. Ofosu Ampofo said this when he appeared on the popular Peace FM ‘Kokrokoo Show’ hosted by the venerable Kwame Sefa Kayi. On that fateful day Mr Ampofo was quoted to have said that “former President Mahama would have ended the dumsor crisis confronting the economy if Ghanaians hadn’t voted his government out of power”.

So clearly, on account of these and many others, including the living testimonies of Ghanaians who know pretty much that dumsor was still persisting at the time Mr Mahama and the NDC exited, it beats reasonable thinking for the NDC to suggest that they ended dumsor on account of a statement Dr. Bawumia made in March 2016 when in actual sense there are statements made by senior members of the NDC, Mr Mahama inclusive, to suggest that dumsor was there even after Dr. Bawumia’s statement.

Once again, this is propaganda yaamutu. NDC never ended dumsor. They should look out for the next propaganda.

Can The NDC Survive The Performance Momentum Of This Government?

I have been monitoring media reports and commentaries after the commissioning of the 307 ambulances by President Akufo-Addo. One thing is clear – the NDC looks dazed if I am not mistaking. Some of them have started making comments on social media and sometimes when you read the comments you wonder if they did so themselves.

Until the commissioning of the ambulances, I didn’t know politics could make us so unpatriotic. Suddenly, there are social media adverts sponsored against ambulances just as they did to the drones and Free SHS. Thankfully, anytime they have mounted such vicious propaganda the President and his government have remained resolute and delivered.

So far, the drones have been delivered against the propaganda of “You Can’t Do”, Free SHS has been delivered against the propaganda of “It Is Not Possible” and now One Constituency One Ambulance is delivered against the propaganda of “It Is All Hoax”.

Perhaps, we should ask the NDC to tell us any major policy initiative they announced and truly were able to deliver. Would it be One Time Premium for Health Insurance, Hope City or what?

But much as these deliverables are enough to unsettle the NDC for election 2020 there are still more coming. I am sure they have concluded the Year of Roads concept announced by the government will also not happen. Well! Yesterday I had some refreshing information on that.

To help actualize President Akufo-Addo’s vision of delivering massive roads infrastructure in the country this year under the ‘Year of Roads’ concept, the Ministry of Roads and Highways organized a retreat for all regional ministers, executives of the Ghana Chamber of Construction, road engineers and contractors, and departments and agencies under the Ministry.

As outlined by the sector Minister, Hon. Kwasi Amoako-Atta, the investment made by this government in the road sector is quite assuring. So far, the government has paid about GHc5.2 billion cedis to road contractors from 2017 to date, unprecedented in the first three years of any government in our history.

In the GHc2.2 billion Year of Roads package announced by government last year contractors who were owed by Ministry of Finance less than GHc5 million Ghana cedis totalling 168 (I.e. GoG) and submitted their Certificates by August 2019 have been paid in full (100%,) while those who were owed more than GHc5 million, totalling 210 have been paid 40% of the total amount owed.

For those who were owed directly by the Ministry of Roads and Highways under Road Fund, those government owed less than GHc500,000 totalling 4,212, an amount of GHc482 million has been used to pay all of them (i.e 100% payment). Those owed more than GHc10 million have been paid 40% with a total amount of GHc584 million, while for those owed between GHc500,000 and GHc10 million payment is ongoing for them.

In terms of projects execution, despite the difficulties, a substantial amount of road projects are being executed concurrently (simultaneously) in all the 16 regions and 260 districts in the country. The cumulative performance as at the end of 2019 shows the following:

Routine Maintenance – 34,890km
Periodic Maintenance – 1,490km
Major and Minor. – 420km
Asphaltic Overlays. – 210km

Aside these there are bridges ongoing across the country; we have interchanges such as Tema roundabout, Pokuase, Obetsebi Lamptey Circle, Tamale, all ongoing.

In addition to the many feeder, urban, highway and cocoa roads ongoing the Sinohydro and critical roads have also started. Others include the China Geo on Kumasi Sofoline interchange that will complete the stretch to Abuakwa to start soon, China Water of Kwafokrom to Apedwa back to work, procurement of contractor for the Volvo bridge ongoing, Bolga-Bawku-Polimakrom road very active, etc.

Admittedly, the roads infrastructure needs are huge and the government will continue to do more for all.

And by the way, can we know the road network size constructed by the NDC from 2009 to 2016 or narrowly from 2009 to 2012?