No guinea fowl flew to Burkina Faso – John Mahama insists

Former President John Dramani Mahama has denied widely circulated reports that guinea fowls that were reared under the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) flew to Burkina Faso.

During a media engagement in Bolgatanga on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, John Dramani Mahama clarified that guinea fowls are not migratory birds, hence it would be difficult for the birds to travel long distances.

He clarified that the initiative sought to incubate eggs and distribute day-old chicks to farmers, who would then raise them for meat and also improve the livelihoods of farmers.

“This is one of the SADA projects, it was supposed to create an incubator for the guinea fowls, so the incubation plant was built, the incubators were put there. They were going to incubate day-old guinea fowls, but unfortunately the project run into issues.

“The truth, however, was far from it. Guinea fowls are not migratory birds, and the project’s goal was never to create a spectacle of thousands of birds in one place,” he explained.

John Mahama also expressed dissatisfaction over the misleading media reports when the project run into challenges

“A visitor asked a watchman about the whereabouts of the guinea fowls, and the watchman jokingly replied that they had flown to Burkina Faso with the changing seasons. The comment was taken out of context and spread like wildfire.

“Before long, he said the media was reporting that the guinea fowls had indeed migrated to Burkina Faso, and the project was deemed a failure.

“The truth, however, was far from it. Guinea fowls are not migratory birds, and the project’s goal was never to create a spectacle of thousands of birds in one place,” he said.

The Guinea Fowl project was under the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority, which was started in 2013.