Atuabo Gas project cost Ghana $2bn in corruption and incompetence

The Crusaders For Change (CFC) has intercepted a song produced by the ruling John Mahama government and a budget totaling 15billion cedis (1.5million Ghana cedis), which was among others used to produce the song and with the rest expected to be used to distribute the song widely on various radio stations and through music vans which will be deployed to various villages to spread the song.

The song according to the document intercepted is expected to play a key role in the lies the NDC will spew in order to retain power in 2016 and was sang by one Akwadaa Nyame, as he introduced himself on the track.

The song, very characteristic of the NDC, lists various projects, some of which have not even commenced, in an attempt to fool Ghanaians once again. It also proceeds to curse and insult, in very clear language, all Ghanaians who criticize the government and complain of the corruption, incompetence and attendant hardships being witnessed under John Mahama and the NDC.

A chorus in the official NDC song says, "Fire should burn Ghanaians who complain against the President."

The NDC which has made Ghanaians poorer and their party leaders and their families richer beyond measure are now putting a curse on the millions of us whose money they have stolen to enrich themselves.

The song rattles a long list of uncompleted projects. Including the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, which it says has allowed the place to look like an advanced "abrokyire" city in the West. Other projects include the Tamale International Airport, SADA Rice farm, Eastern Region University and Kumasi Shoe Factory.

The truth is that the few projects mentioned have cost the country extra billions of dollars in waste and theft. Monies that could have been used to fix rural roads, tar urban roads, built more than 30 flyovers in our cities to ease traffic is being used to build only two or three and we are expected to praise this wicked and criminal use of public funds!

ATUABO GAS PROJECT

The propaganda song, which the NDC is ready to waste 15billion cedis of our taxpayers' money on, lists the Atuabo Gas Project as one of the major achievements of the government.

It is comical that the NDC and John Mahama will even seek to claim credit for the Atuabo Gas project after willfully causing a loss of well over two billion dollars. According to analysis made by experts, the cost of the gas project has been inflated by over $500 million. Over $1.4 billion has already been spent on the project, which is headed by a man who was jailed 10 years go for causing financial lost to the state.

Also, the four-year delay in completing the project borders on criminality. The delay has cost the nation an additional $1.3 billion. In May 2014, Kofi Ellis, Director of Planning & Business Development of the Volta River Authority disclosed to the media that VRA spends about $50 million every 18 days to import crude oil to power its thermal plants and that only half of that would be needed to buy natural gas to generate the same amount of power.

Thus, Ghana could have saved $1.3 billion if the NDC had set to work immediately after taking office in 2009 to get the gas plant project done.

It should be recalled that the NPP administration led by President Kufuor made all the necessary plans to construct the Atuabo Gas Plant before the NPP lost power in 2008.

Under the well thought-out plan, the three-way project was going to be done in only 2 years, with the offshore pipe, onshore pipe and the plant itself all being constructed at the same time.

Under the NPP plan, Ghanaians would have started enjoying Gas from as early as 2010. Production of the gas was supposed to commence simultaneously with the production of Oil.

However, the greedy NDC scrapped the plans of the former government and took another three years of infighting for control of the project before finally initiating a totally new and far expensive project in a politically chosen site with no added benefits in 2011.

Due to this recklessness, Ghana has lost $25million every 18 days since 2010 due to the late take off and completion of the project. Had John Mahama and his NDC prioritized the national interest and continued with the Gas Project we would not have been enduring the 'dumso-dumso'.

Has government even calculated the billions of dollars that the economy has suffered because of this avoidable incompetence in the supply of power to fuel industries and other businesses? Some economists put this hidden cost at over $10 billion a year!

The question the CFC wants to ask John Mahama is this: is this the record he is proud of? How many hundreds of millions of dollars has John Mahama and his government made just on their decision to recklessly review the project and award the contract to their favorites?

TAMALE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Another project the propaganda John Mahama/NDC song mentions is the Tamale International Airport. Before we even proceed, CFC believes that the move to get another International Airport for the country is a laudable one and we want to make that statement emphatic.

However, what the CFC cannot condone is the characteristic theft of the NDC, which has found its way into the Tamale International Airport project.

CFC is emphatically stating that the project has been long calculated by John Mahama as one of the ways he can stash his bank accounts and that of his family. It is for this reason why as sitting Vice-President then, he told the whole country that the project would cost $174 million while on a visit to Brazil in 2011. It was that visit which sought and gained the approval of the Brazilian government to finance the project.

It should therefore not really surprise anyone that after borrowing their way into unprecedented economic crisis and facing pressure to cut down borrowing, they have been forced to bring the cost of the project downward to $100milion

The Crusaders for Change still insists however that Tamale International Airport project should cost not more than $40million. $40million is more than enough to upgrade the Tamale Airport to first class international standard. In other words, after finding various schemes to steal from the people of the North using so called afforestation and Guinea Fowl rearing schemes, John Mahama is using the Tamale International Airport to steal at least another $70million from his fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and children in the North.

This $70million could have been invested into developing industries in and around Tamale and the North which could have also increased the traffic and economic value of the Airport as well as provide the vitally needed employment and income for the Youth of the North.

CIRCLE INTERCHANGE AND KASOA FLYOVER

Another project the propaganda song mentioned was the Circle Interchange. Indeed the song went as far as to say that because of the Circle Interchange Accra had been transformed to the status of a big European or American city. Yet, this is a project which is not even 30% complete!

The Circle Interchange like all the other projects mentioned above, is another conduit for massive theft of the taxpayers' money. If a government that has borrowed more than $26 billion in 6 years can boast of a flyover as a major achievement then Allah help us!

It is instructive to recall that the whole N1 project which is a 14.1 kilometre road from Tetteh Quarshie to Mallam with two huge interchanges at Dimples Junction and Mallam Junction, 6 footbridges, 13 Bus Bays, 23 Minor Junctions, 2 transport terminals and link roads like the GIMPA-Dzorwulu Junction road cost $115million, including over $12million paid as compensation to individuals and firms whose property were affected by the construction.

However, three years after the completion of the N1, the NDC is charging the Ghanaian taxpayer $100million for the construction of one relatively small interchange at Nkrumah Circle. This project should have cost less than $30 million from all the checks we have made. Which means, $70 million of our money will go into the pockets of John Mahama, his cronies from Ghana and Brazil.

It is this same John Mahama who brought the highly inflated Embraer Jet deal from Brazil which President John Atta Mills was forced to cancel and ordered that his Vice President then, John Mahama, should be investigated.

Worse of all the scams is the yet to be commenced Kasoa Flyover which John Mahama claims will cost the Ghanaian $174million. In short, the NDC wants us to believe that constructing a flyover in Kasoa will cost more than the whole N1 project with two Grade separation interchanges and 14.1 kilometres of 1st Class Asphalted Road.

All experts the CFC has spoken to conclude that the planned Kasoa flyover should cost just around $30million. We believe this Kasoa flyover is also inflated by over $140 million. This is naked theft!

The question is, how heartless can John Mahama and his appointees be? How can this cabal of looters inflate a project by over five times what it should really cost?

The truth as we can see from the issues with the projects raised above is that the NDC initiates projects with the focus not on development for the Ghanaian people but the development of private bank accounts and pockets of John Mahama and his cronies.

Go and check the details of some of the owners of all the apartment blocks springing up in the rich areas in Accra. These so-called social democrats are supporting the construction of flats for the very rich and none for the ordinary workers of Ghana.

The truth is that the projects listed in the propaganda campaign song instead of being achievements, are rather indictments on John Mahama and underline his legendary status as by far the most corrupt Ghanaian leader in our history as a nation.

Our appeal to all of us, Ghanaians, is that beware of their tricks and lies like those contained in the propaganda song yet to be released. The NDC feels that the surest way they can remain in power is to steal from us and lie to us and not to govern honestly and competently.

The Crusaders For Change is committed to helping Ghanaians expose all the lies and tricks of the NDC to ensure that come 2016 they are booted out for Ghanaians to have a truly committed and competent government to redeem us from the unprecedented hardships needlessly imposed on us by Mahama.

We shall not sit by meekly and watch John Mahama and his gang loot our nation dry and kill the future of the young people of Ghana.

......signed......

Hopeson Adorye 004915214954959

Sylvester Tetteh 0244368848

Baba Tauffic 0200544454

Gifty Oware 0244984307

Tina Mensah 0266275040