Cataloguing The Failures Of Ndc In My District/Constituency, Part I

If you are my friend from the other side of the political divide, please don’t be disappointed in me for beginning to criticize JM’s NDC government. Take a second and ask yourself why after five years in power I remained quiet only to resurface now with my criticisms. Make sure that you remove your NDC lenses before reading my articles and then ask yourself whether what this ‘NPP appendage’ writes is true or false? My not being NDC does not mean that I will always say negative things about them. The truth is, there is more despondency in the ranks of the NDC than in the larger populace. With the onset of the rainy season in northern Ghana, writing this article became inevitable the moment I rode through Nalerigu Township with a motorbike.
The previous NPP government under President Kufour tarred the Nalerigu to Bongbini road which is almost half the mileage of the Walewale-Nalerigu road. It is worthy of note that as at the time NPP exited office, contractors were on site to finish the remaining stretch of the road which was not tarred. Soon after assuming the reins of government, the contractor working on the road vacated site because government had refused to commit itself to the project. I must emphasize that the single most important project that will benefit all the people of Mamprugu is construction of the Walewale-Nalerigu-Bunkpurugu road. The NDC in opposition in 2008, through Mr. John Mahama rightly promised a prompt approach to see that these stretch of roads are constructed if they were voted into power. With glee, the people of my constituency, and indeed my Kingdom handed over the four seats we had in Parliament then to NDC and H.E the late John Mills won the presidency. Their share of the cake which was promised never got to them even till this day. Amidst pump and pageantry, the overlord of Mamprugu kingdom was made to call a durbar to signal the sod-cutting and commencement of construction works on the remaining stretch in 2011. The aftermath of that sod-cutting is the continuous deterioration of the road with no sign that constructors will be on site until six months to December, 2016 when they will bring two tipper trucks to fill the road with gravel and claim the road is going to be tarred. The least talk of the Nalerigu township roads the better. After rainfall, movement within Nalerigu town is a near impossibility due to the muddy and slippery nature of the roads. Several people have had accidents en route to the Baptist Medical Center and exacerbating their conditions due to the bad road network. These town roads were also under construction when NPP left office.
In the sector of education, the NDC has failed to live up to the standards that were set by the NPP. I have always maintained that I have never benefited by way of a dole out, contract, appointment etc from NPP but will defend it with my blood because my life was made easier with their social interventions. As a student at UG, Legon, I was assisted with GH60 per semester by the District Assembly. All my colleagues from the East Mamprusi district in other universities and polytechnics enjoyed same. Those that were in Nursing/Teacher training colleges were assisted to the tune of between GH400 and GH600 annually. However little this amount was, it could transport me to and from school. When NDC came to implement their better Ghana Agenda, our hopes soared only to be disappointed with the total abrogation of this noble gesture by the District Assembly. The Gambaga Girls Senior High School was established under NPP through the magnanimous efforts of Hon. Hajia Alima Mahama, then MP cum women and children affairs minister. Establishing this school was well thought and not designed to win votes unlike some failed initiatives under NDC designed to deceive the people to vote for them. The economy of Nalerigu has significantly improved since President Kufour with the strong lobbying skills of the then DCE Peter Baaga put up the Nalerigu Health Assistants Training School. Jobs have been created, health care enhanced and infrastructure improved with these two noble initiatives of the NPP MP and DCE.
When it comes to jobs creation, NDC has failed once again. Even though they employed only NDC foot soldiers under the National Youth Employment Programme, they found it very difficult paying them. Their salaries could run into arrears of 8 months and yet they don’t get paid all that is due them. Under NPP, my friends and brothers in East Mamprusi/Nalerigu-Gambaga constituency who had interest in joining the security services and were qualified were recruited. These young men today are bread winners of their families and role models of the youth. Instead of the numbers increasing under NDC better Ghana, I can hardly say that I know or have heard of anyone from my constituency who got recruited into the security services. Are they in anyway insinuating that people in my district/constituency are no longer qualified to enroll in the security services? I challenge our NDC MP to come out of his shell and begin to fight for the interest of his constituents which is the reason why he is in parliament. Under NDC, almost every graduate from the universities and polytechnics have had to battle it out with their siblings for ‘Sa-akulli’ (old T.Z) simply because they are unemployed. This has brought about a lot of depression to graduates in my constituency. There was unemployment under NPP but the rates were not this hopeless.
Before I forget, I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the MP of Nalerigu-Gambaga and the DCE of East Mamprusi to as a matter of urgency rehabilitate the Naminboku Primary School whose roof got ripped off by heavy winds three years ago. All attempts to have the school roofed have failed probably because the school was constructed by the NPP. A similar situation pertains in Bongbini Primary. With the onset of the rainy season, the pupils have to endure these harsh weather conditions in their schools in their quest to become the future leaders of Ghana. I wonder if the DCE’s bungalow gets ripped off it can take a maximum of 48hrs to get it back.
With a lot of Ghanaian voters becoming sophisticated by the day, I wonder what the NDC will campaign on especially in my constituency. All their election promises have failed woefully. They still have two years to redeem their promises whilst we in the NPP have two years to put our house in order and prepare for governance. Time is not on their side neither is it on ours but if we present a united force in 2016, especially at the parliamentary level and get to every town, village and hamlet to educate the electorate about our achievements and the failures of the current government, NPP shall emerge victorious.
LET US UNITE FOR VICTORY IN 2016. LONG LIVE GHANA, LONG LIVE MAMPRUGU AND LONG LIVE NPP.
Author: Simon Suayam, Nalerigu
Mobile: 0207854685
email: suayamsimon@gmail.com