Former President John Mahama has mocked the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over its promise to make available $1 million per constituency each year.
He told party delegates that the government, after realizing the challenges with fulfilling the promise has revised its plan by announcing that the promised annual $1 million expires at the end of each year if not made available.
Addressing delegates in the Upper East Region, Mahama said he was surprised that the government is now finding creative ways of not fulfilling the ambitious promise.
“…The worse one[promise] is the $1 million, per constituency, per year. Now we are almost two years gone, so $2 million. But we’ve now been told that the money [for 2017 has] expired. Ask Agalga, they called the Minister [of Special initiatives, Hawa Koomson] to Parliament and asked her about last year’s money and she said that one has expired. I know rice, cooking oil, corned beef, sardine, they have expiry date, but I’ve never seen money with expiry date,” Mahama said.
“If we use her logic about 2017 one, then it means that 2018 one, today is October 12, it means that the expiry date for the 2018 one is 31st December 2018. It means that one is also expiring,” he added
This is not the first time John Mahama has launched an attack on an initiative or promise of the current government.
Mahama earlier this week said that there are no signs of the government’s one village, one dam initiative on the ground after almost two years in office.
He said the government was rather providing dugouts for the people, instead of the dams it promised ahead of the 2016 elections.
Addressing delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Wechiau in the Wa West constituency as part of his three-day campaign tour of the Upper West Region, Mr. Mahama pointed out that dugouts had always existed in the savanna area, with the NDC government digging many for the people.
But the Special Initiatives Minister, Hawa Koomson in reaction to that denied the claims saying that the construction meets the requirements for a dam.
” . . that is 2.5 below and 2.5 up above ground level. The length of the embankment range 150 to 250 meters and all these depend on the topography of the location, and water capacity holding is about 30,000 cubic meters and how can you call this man-hole?”, she quizzed.
