Don’t be deceived, Obetsebi-Lamptey interchange is Mahama’s legacy – Dr Agyenim Boateng tells Ghanaians

Former presidential staffer, James Agyenim-Boateng has alleged that the construction of the Obetsebi-Lamptey interchange at Kaneshie is a legacy of former President John Dramani Mahama.

According to the former spokesperson for John Mahama, the realization to construct the interchange in question was one of several interventions the erstwhile administration had secured funding for, before they were voted out of power in the 2016 general elections.

In a short post on Facebook, Dr Agyenim Boateng advised Ghanaians to be vigilant and not succumb to the deceptive works of the Akufo-Addo administration.

Former President Mahama in his Final State of the Nation Address to end the sixth Parliament of the fourth Republic on January 5, 2017, revealed that funding had been made available for the construction of the Obetsebi Lamptey interchange.

The former president is quoted to have said, “…Many other projects are ongoing such as the Tema motorway roundabout decongestion project and a new bridge from flowerpot roundabout on the Spintex Road over the Accra- Tema motorway into East Legon. There are others ready to commence with financing arranged such as the Obetsebi Lamptey interchange, the Pokuase interchange, and Motorway expansion project among others.”

But at a short ceremony on Monday, October 22, 2019, President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of the aforementioned project.

However, in his address, he failed to acknowledge his predecessor.

At the ceremony, President Akufo-Addo said, the construction of the interchange was part of a number of actions being undertaken by government to improve urban mobility within the western parts of Accra.

This seeming lack of due acknowledgement of the former president is believed to have triggered several rebuttals from the camp of the opposition National Democratic Congress.

In this regard, Mr Agyenim Boateng believes President Akufo-Addo is on an agenda to deceive Ghanaians by denying them knowledge of the rightful brain behind the construction of the interchange.

Meanwhile, the First Phase of the project will see the construction of the East-West flyover and other related works, whilst the second phase will involve the construction of the third-tier flyover on the Ring Road West. The first phase is expected to be completed in 18 months.

Below is a snippet of former President Mahama’s speech at the State of the Nation’s Address in 2017: