Pokuase Interchange: NDC, NPP fight over ownership

The announcement by government that President Akufo-Addo will today Friday July 09 commission the Pokuase Interchange, ignited the usual debate that characterizes that whole project as to who indeed constructed it.

While the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) says it deserves commendation for starting and completing the project, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is also making a case for it by calling it a “Mahama legacy”.

The first time the debate over who built the interchange was last year during the 2020 election campaign.

Records available indicate that the African Development Bank (AfDB) was the main funding agency that paid some (95%) of the cost with the Government of Ghana (GoG) adding on with the 5%.

The project costs $94.8 million.

The project design and sourcing of the fund from AfDB was done and completed in 2016 and the project was to start in January 2017.

This therefore means that the then new government of President Akufo-Addo came to inherit the project.

The NDC by the argument is saying since the project was birthed and loan from the AfDB was automatically added to debts written in the name of the former President, it means John Mahama and the NDC own the project .

But according to the NPP, even though they inherited the project, it had to redesign the project from three tier structure to four and this according to the NPP, is as a result of prudent use of resources.

When news of today’s event surfaced, the Minority quickly came out saying the Pokuase interchange was the vision and work of John Mahama and the NDC.

Indeed, a former Deputy Communication Minister under the John Mahama led administration, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, who for years has been sharing images of the project, shared two of such pictures and a video to make a case for the NDC.

Source: Maame Asiedu Arthur || newdawngh