The National Democratic Congress (NDC), on July 29, released a statement to highlight 60 achievements of their flagbearer and former president, John Dramani Mahama.
The statement was in response to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s claims of 50 reasons why Ghanaians have to choose president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over John Dramani Mahama.
Fact-check Ghana has looked at some of the claims on road infrastructure and found them to be misleading. Below are the claims, the verdict and explanation to the verdict.
Claims: John Mahama’s tenure of office had some of the most massive investments in the road sector in the history of the country. Some of the road projects include:
- Achimota-Ofankor
- Awoshie-Pokuase
- Sofoline
- Tetteh Quarshie-Adenta.
Verdict: Misleading
Explanation: The four road projects —Achimota-Ofankor, Awoshie-Pokuase, Sofoline and Tetteh Quarshie-Adenta— are projects that started before John Mahama became president in 2013. In fact, the projects were all started in former president John Agyekum Kuffour’s second term in office. The sod-cutting ceremony for the Tetteh-Quarshie Adenta road project was held on September 11, 2006 by President John Agyekum Kuffour. The the sod-cutting ceremony for the Achimota-Ofankor road was done the following month. A Ghana News Agency report cited on Ghanaweb.com indicates that the sod-cutting ceremony of the Achimota-Ofankor road was done on Monday, October 9, in the same year. At the time of the commissioning, all these roads were marked to be funded by the Government of Ghana.
Although the projects were started under John Agyekum Kuffour’s administration, they could not be completed before he left power in 2008. The projects were continued by the Atta Mills administration when the NDC took office in 2009.
In 2011, the World Bank allocated $400 million towards the completion of these four major road projects and the general development of the country’s transport sector, according to a media report. Further, the report suggests that although the package was the outcome of a meeting held between a Ghana government delegation, led by then Vice-President Mr John Dramani Mahama and officials of the World Bank in Washington DC, in the United States, Mr. John Dramani Mahama admitted that the projects were already running but had to be halted because funds had run out.
Another news report by the Ghanaian Chronicle published on Modernghana.com in 2009 indicated that the Sofoline project was scheduled to be completed in July 2010 but was only 30 per cent complete as at July 2009.
Aside from the Tetteh Quarshie-Adenta, the Awoshie-Pokuase and the Achimota-Ofankor roads which were completed under John Mahams’s administration, the construction of Sofoline is still ongoing after about 13 years of sod-cutting.
Based on the facts above, it is misleading for the NDC to give all the credit on these projects to John Dramani Mahama.
