Mills' action year on hold

Ghanaians may have to wait till next year 2012 to feel the effect of the much-talked-about ‘action year’ promised by President Mills and his administration.

This was brought to light by Aide to the presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Samuel Abdulai Jinapor.

In December 2010, the President declared 2011 a year of action which was to witness the construction of the Volta University, the Brong Ahafo University, the ‘Kotokoraba’ Market, the Cape Coast Stadium and the eastern corridor road, major rehabilitation works at the country’s ports, more schools, more hospitals, as well as massive housing projects.

But three months to the end of the year 2011, very little has been seen and done about these projects, with construction works on the Accra-Kumasi road virtually abandoned.

Aide to the Presidential Candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Samuel Abdulai Jinapor however believes the much-touted ‘action year’ has been postponed to the year 2012 to enable government to win more votes.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Guide, he expressed certainty that most of these projects which had virtually been abandoned would be reactivated next year.

Though Communications Director at the Presidency, Koku Anyidoho, holds brief for the President and touts him as a man “not of cheap political talk [but] a man of his words”, Abu Jinapor believed Mills had not lived up to expectation.

“The suspicion is that the Mills-Mahama administration intends to prosecute a fake kind of ‘Action year’ in 2012 just for the sole motivation of buying the votes of Ghanaians,” he said.

He thus asked Ghanaians to “take a look around [to evaluate] whether indeed they feel some action in their lives. ”

For this reason, he said, “all of us should be expectant of a government that will attempt desperately to push in some monies here and there which is not sustainable but just to win election 2012”, asking Ghanaians to be wary of some of the schemes being employed by government and reject the NDC in 2012.

With three months to the end of the year, other political observers have also asked whether or not the President is indeed committed or would be able to deliver on these numerous promises since there is virtually nothing in sight.

However, the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Adenta, Kojo Adu Asare, who spoke on Peace FM on Monday stressed the belief that President Mills had done a lot to better the lives of Ghanaians, which would enable him to retain power come 2012 when the country heads for the polls to elect a President.