Mahama descends heavily on Akufo-Addo at NDC Unity Walk
Former President John Mahama has chided President Akufo-Addo and the ruling NPP for deliberately refusing to give credit where its due in relation to some projects being undertaken by the incumbent government.
The rebuttal from John Mahama comes days after President Akufo-Addo cut sod at the premises of the Airport in Kumasi for the second phase of the enhancement exercise currently ongoing at the facility.
The second phase of the project will encompass the extension of the current length of the runway by 319 from 1,981 metres to 2,300, the construction of a new terminal building with the capacity to handle one million passengers per year. It will also include the construction of an apron area and related taxiway; and the undertaking of ancillary works.
However, speaking at the final NDC Unity Walk at Aflao in the Volta region, Mahama said before handing over to the incumbent government, he cut sod for the second phase of the Kumasi International Airport to begin but the NPP asked the contractor to stop work on January 7 when they came to power.
“On January 7, the contractor was asked to stop work and kept him waiting for 18 months, then you come back to cut the same sod, same contractor, same money, same site and asked him to finish in 2 years, what a waste of national resource.”
According to John Mahama, the pettiness of the NPP is the fact that they don’t give credit where is due.
“What does it take from you if you give credit? President Rawlings carried out the feasibility study for the Bui dam project, President Kufuor came and found money and started the project, when President Mills came, the money President Kufuor found was not enough and got them to give us additional money.
The project was completed under President Mahama, when I went to commission the project, I invited President to come and sit down and told the whole country that this man started the project. What do you lose, it shows the pettiness, low standards, immaturity of NPP as a government. Mahama fumed”
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has expressed shock at the decision by President Akufo-Addo to cut sod for the phase two of the Kumasi International Airport despite the fact that it was done by the Mahama administration.
According to the Minority, sod cutting for the second time for the same project amounts to waste of time and resources of the state.
In a statement on the development, the Minority said: “The Minority Caucus in Parliament has received with shock and bewilderment, news that President Akufo Addo will cut sod for work on the second phase of the Kumasi International Airport.
“The purported sod cutting by the President would amount to a needless waste of time and scarce national resources in view of the fact that his predecessor, President John Dramani Mahama, performed the same ceremony on 5th December 2016.
President Mahama performed the ceremony after securing parliamentary approval of a loan of 65,037,500 Euros from Banco Santander S.A. and export credit support from the United Kingdom Export Finance Agency, for onward lending in the sum of 7,762,500 Euros, to the Ghana Airports Company Limited, in November 2016,” the statement signed by Kwame Agbodza, MP for Adaklu and Ranking Member on Road and Transport Committee of Parliament said.
Source: primenewsghana.com
