Damongo – Jan 24, 2023 – Abdulai Zulkaninu
The NPP in the Savannah region says it is surprised by the strange attitude of NDC to demand for answers from the governing NPP on the status of some major road networks in the region. The party directed NDC to look for the answers under the armpit of John Mahama, the former president of Ghana.
The NPP in a statement signed by it’s Savannah regional Director of Communications, Frederick Tahiru stated the party finds it extremely amusing that, our main political adversaries – the NDC, are oblivious of the gateway to the answers to their own questions.
The statement which was copied padfm.com.gh on 24th January, 2023, said “the attention of the ruling New Patriotic Party in the Savannah Region has been drawn to a solely authored release signed by the Savannah Regional Communications officer of the NDC. The scanty statement which is bedeviled by deliberate factual inacuracies and unitentional errors, attempted to seek for clarifications on some Three (3) major roads in the Savannah Region. Namely;
- Busunu-Daboya Road,
- Fufulso-Damongo-Sawla Road,
- Tamale-Salaga-Mankango Road.
All the questions and answers concerning these three (3) major roads in the Region are in the armpits of the former President, John Dramani Mahama.
The Savannah Region NPP therefore finds it extremely amusing that, our main political adversaries – the NDC, are oblivious of the gateway to the answers to their own questions. John Mahama’s NDC, is the urgent problem to all their concerns and I will proceed with the permission of readers to educate them;
- H.E President J.A Kuffour cut the sod for the construction of the Fulfulso-Damongo-Sawla Road in November 2008. This was after feasibility and all regulatory assessments of the project had been complete and funding secured from the African Development Bank (AfDB). Unfortunately, the NPP exited office on 7th January, 2009 after the 2008 elections. The Mills-Mahama led government was compelled to continue giving the stage of the multi-million project.
Unfortunately, the Mills-Mahama administration adulterated the contract specifications to dubiously construct a bitumen surface road instead of an asphalted one”.
The statement further added that this reckless and clueless decision resulted to why the road has depleted and developed horrible potholes especially from the Laribanga to Sawla stretch. According to the then NDC government under John Mahama, the balance will be used to fix the Busunu-Daboya Road. The Busunu-Daboya Road was subsequently awarded to Logistics Support Services Ltd, a construction firm belonging to Peter Mahama, a blood and direct brother of John Mahama.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the purported proceeds from the AfDB funded Fufulso-Damongo-Sawla Road was nowhere to be found; the award was done with an election winning intent without any funding source. In less than six months after construction, that Road which passes through through John Mahama’s maternal and paternal home towns has developed deadly potholes and also a camp for armed robbers. Savannah Regional Executives of the NDC knows where the camp is located.
- The Busunu-Daboya Road as stated earlier on, was awarded to Peter Mahama. Peter, who is the direct brother of John Dramani Mahama has been paid huge mobilisation and additional monies by the Nana Addo/Bawumia NPP government after raising and presenting certificates of work on the road but has since refused to move to site to continue the project. We wish to entreat all to check with the defunct Uni-Bank and Fidelity Bank to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of our claims. Uni-bank maybe defuncted but the documents are not.
The NDC in the Savannah Region is therefore admonished again to take a trip from Daboya, the District Capital of the North Gonja District to Mankarigu and see for the themselves the real meaning of Road Construction. From the District Capital, Daboya to Disa is 10 kilometres and the road has been awarded to MS Limerical. As we speak, the project is nearing completion.
Disa- Nabengu Road which is about 34 kilometres was awarded to MS Marpoma and work on that road is progressing with speed.
A 24km road spanning from Nabengu to Mankarigu was also awarded to Mi-Turn by the NPP government. Mi-Turn is on site and also working with speed.
The Mankarigu- Wiasì road which was awarded to MAWUMS is also in progress because the contractor is on site.
Unlike Peter Mahama, all these contractors are not natives of the Savannah Region but they are busily working on schedule to complete their various jobs.
- The author also ignorantly wrote about the Tamale-Salaga-Mankango Road. The road again, was awarded to another blood and direct brother of the Former President John Dramani Mahama. Ibrahim Mahama of E&P who moved to site in November 2016 was paid for job not done. His site equipments were paraded on some principal streets of Tamale and escorted by over 500 soldiers, about 300 police officers, some 200 Fire Service Officers. These state security officers accompanied only three tipper truck drivers, two caterpillar operators and one bulldozer operator to the Salaga road. Immediately after the last ballot was cast in 2016, all the equipments disappeared like Angel Gabriel.
All attempts by the Former Savannah Regional Minister, Hon. Salifu Adam Braimah (Uncle Sally) to get Ibrahim Mahama to site fell on deaf ears. Uncle Sally, who was by then, the MP for Salaga South had no option but to initiate steps in collaboration with the road Minister to terminate the contract. The project was then re-awarded. Under the NPP, the road has been tarred up to Bunjai. The Salaga-Mankango road too is about 80% complete and the contractor is still busily working to complete ahead of schedule.
Paragraph two (2) of the statement issued by NDC-SR reads;
“The lackadaisical attitude of the Nana Addo/Bawumia led NPP government in the past six (6) years of their tenure towards completing road projects commissioned under President Mahama in the Savannah Region is worrying “
For God’s sake, it is only a clueless rookie Communications Officer suffering from a popularity crisis and battling for recognition who expects a different regime to complete an already commissioned project. A commissioned project is a completed project.
The six (6) years of the current NPP government have done far more than the Mills-Mahama and Mahama-Amissah Arthur regimes combined in the Savannah Region on road infrastructure. The Daboya-Mankarigu-Mempeaeem and the virgin Bunjai-Yapei roads are a few testimonies of work done by the government on road projects in the region”.
In conclusion, you may want to try another gimmick because this one has failed woefully, it’s a shame that a party led by a son of the land at the pinnacle of governance for several has failed his people this much; to the extent that his followers are finding it difficult to resurrect his comeback through mischief and wicked propaganda.
We in NPP may have the vaccine for most of the problems in the country but, that does not include the vaccine that will resurrect the dead NDC in Savannah Region.
SIGNED
Fredrick Tahiru(Savannah Regional Communications Director-NPP)
