Five District Water Project not for Akufo-Addo – Volta NDC

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta Region has descended heavily on President Nana Akufo-Addo for not crediting five District water projects recently Commissioned at Adaklu in the Volta Region.

A press release by the party’s Regional Communications Directorate and signed by Sorkpa K. Agbleze exposed the President as ‘not owner’ of the said water project.

The release emphasized that, the said water project is an intuitive of Former President John Dramani Mahama.

For clarity, find the full statement below:

JOHN MAHAMA MUST BE CREDITED FOR THE FIVE DISTRICT WATER PROJECT IN THE VOLTA REGION

The President of the Republic, H.E. Nana Akufo Addo has once again woefully missed the opportunity to expel the general notion about his vindictive character, especially towards his political opponents. This is as a result of his failure to apportion some modicum of credit to his predecessor, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, for the crucial roles he has played in the Five District Water Project in the Volta Region.

It will be proper for the President to avoid pettiness and emulate his predecessors like the Late President J.E.A. Mills who invited his predecessor H.E. John Agyekum Kuffour to the commissioning of the George Walker Bush Highway.
A similar courtesy was extended by H.E. John Mahama to H.E. John Kuffour during the commissioning of the Bui Hydro Power Project.

However, the expectations of citizens in the Volta Region and Ghana at large were terribly dashed when H.E. Nana Addo has once again deliberately failed to extend an invitation to his predecessor or at least mention his name for the sake of credit at the commissioning of the project in question.

What is even more surprising was the failure of Dr. Archibald Letsa, the current Regional Minister, to rectify the anomaly by making the nation aware that the project being commissioned was conceived and initiated by H.E. John Mahama to ameliorate the plight of people in parts of the Volta Region who had no access to potable water.

It is very heartbreaking that conspicuously the democracy that we seek to practice has fast nose-dived to its nadir under Nana Addo and his government.

For the records, the Five District Water Project was initiated by the Mills-Mahama Administration who sought for funding through Strabag AG
Vienna of Austria.

Raiffeinsen Bank of Vienna Austria gave the Government of Ghana a loan facility of eight million euros for the project. This was contained in a paper laid before Parliament on the 12th of August, 2012.

On March 20th, 2013, Parliament approved the first phase of the project which includes the building of the water treatment plant, provision of the pumping station, overhead tanks, among others. The second phase was the distribution of the lines to some designated points which afforded some communities within the catchment areas of the water treatment plant to have access to potable water.

The third phase of that project is to see the distribution lines extended to some additional communities. This was what was commissioned by President Nana Addo in Adaklu a couple of days ago by virtue of the support of the existing financial agreements ably reached by the Mills-Mahama Government and the Raiffeinsen Bank of Vienna, Austria.

At the said ceremony, the President again made reference to the Sogakope-Lome Water Project. This, as many are aware, is another brain child of President Mahama targeted at solving the water challenges in communities along that stretch.

For the records, the erstwhile NDC Regime did not only undertake the construction of the water treatment plant for those five districts. It also did same in 2016 at Kpando which provides potable water for the Kpando Municipality and communities within Biakoye in the Oti Region. The NDC also did the Tongor Kpalime Water Supply System phase one which provides potable water to some communities in South Dayi.

It is commendable to have President Nana Addo continue and complete the third phase of the Five District Water Project. However, this recognition would have been complete should he have extended same to his predecessor, John Mahama. His refusal to do so amounts to relegating Ghana’s fledgling democracy to the background.

Signed:

Sorkpa K. Agbleze
(NDC Volta Regional Communications Officer)”

By Graham Kofi Baldwin