Former National Democratic Congress National Organiser, Kofi Adams says the New Patriotic Party government’s decision to halt road projects for audits contributed greatly to Ghana’s current infrastructure deficit.
The audits were because the Mahama administration was accused of awarding over 230 different road contracts to the tune of GHC3.5 billion to the detriment of COCOBOD’s finances.
“The reason why I blame them is…in the name of investigating corruption, you stopped infrastructure projects,” Mr. Adams told Godfred Akoto Boafo on Citi TV’s Face to Face program no Tuesday.
“All you needed to do was to stop payment or to pay for what has been done…so they [contractors] can continue with work whilst you [NPP government] investigate if there was any underhand dealing.
A stain on successive governments has been the inability to complete the Eastern Corridor road which runs from the Greater Accra, Volta, North East and Upper East regions.
It stretches from Tema through Akosombo, Juapong, Hohoe, Jasikan, Kadjebi, Nkwanta, Kpasa and Oti Damanko to Bimbilla, Yendi, Garu, Misiga and to Kulungugu, in the Upper East Region.
The road is one of the most important socio-economic pieces of infrastructure in the country.
The NDC has also not been happy with the NPP government for halting roads being funded by COCOBOD.
Mr. Adams cited the Hohoe to Jasikan road which was being overseen by COCOBOD where he said the “stopping of the project caused a mess.”
The government has since lifted the suspension and has said contractors are being supplied funds to resume work.
But Mr. Adams, who was confident the NDC will return to power, said a new NDC government will be more prudent in handing suspected corruption.
“It is one thing I am going to fight when the NDC comes to power. We don’t do that and I don’t think that we are going to do that…We will punish wrongdoing but we will allow projects to continue.”
On the whole, Mr. Adams dismissed the government’s hailing of infrastructure development as mere propaganda.
“Development must be seen and felt. You don’t have to be told. So when you have a government that is spending so much time telling us that they have developed us, when we are not feeling it, it should tell you that it is propaganda.”