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Opinions of Sunday, 13 April 2014

Columnist: Sarpong, Justice

SADA Is A Waste, Disband It Pronto

There is something very sinister going on in Ghana today and unless we all sit up, we shall wake up one day to find out that we have slept on the wrong side of our pillows!I am talking about the SADA project that was conceived with good intentions to bridge the gap of development between the Northern and the Southern part of our country. The idea behind this project is a noble, humanitarian and patriotic but like the SSSS policy conceived by NPP but stolen by the NDC and badly implemented, the same fate seems to be the destination of this SADA nonsense.

First the visionless NDC gov't took over a novel and noble idea conceived by the NPP - mind you NDC had been in government 19 continuous years prior to Kufour and never conceived of any practical way to narrow the gap between the North and the South in terms of development and wealth - changed its name and went to look for NDC scums who have practically not ran any major projects and programs or achieved any stellar performance before, put them in charge, and embarked on elaborate schemes to bleed their own people to death, economically. What I don't get is: why is it that only Northerners were put in charge of SADA? What has ethnicity got to do with competency, efficiency, and uprightness?

So far it will appear to me that the only litmus test the NDC used to select who gets to be a manager, director or consultant of some sort at SADA, is to be a Northerner and NDC insider. That will not be okay even if we were operating a federal system, but in NDC world that is the norm, even when the SADA money is all of Ghana's tax-payers money. To draw up a grand project and program, and put it in the hands of condescending people, whose inherent posture is to milk their own people, for the sole reason that they are the educated elite - at tax payers’ expense though - the sad SADA outcome is to be expected. For all those people fingered in the report, SADA was and is a cash cow to milk to their advantage.

According to the CEO of SADA, this project is supposed to go on for thirty five (35) years with almost five years gone by, SADA cannot show a single achievement for us Taxpayers to continue to fund this scheme so that the Northerners Elites with powerful political connections walking through the corridors of power can continue to milk this cash cow to live their primitive lifestyle of marrying multiple wives and producing tens of children per family.

People like Agambire at RLG has been given so many SADA projects like "AKOMFEM" rearing, tree planting etc with about thirty million dollars and so far we don't even have a dozen Akomfem eggs to show for our thirty million dollars.

How can SADA employ a Consultant and then contract with an outsider not working for SADA to perform the same consulting duties they have an employee for? What is SADA Officials doing in Turkey? Do they need to go to Turkey to know how to rear Guinea Fowl or how to plant trees? Gilbert Seidu Iddi has been asked to refund some 226, 000 Ghana cedis to SADA, being the cost of unapproved trip to Turkey on behalf of some district assemblies.

In December 13, 2012, two board members of SADA were paid GHC30,000 each for performing administrative duties.Auditors said SADA could not produce any agreement between the management and the two board members which authorized them to carry out the administrative duties for fees or salaries amounting to GHC60,000 in addition to their monthly sitting allowances. The CEO of SADA is the same CEO of stanbic Bank where SADA funds are lodged and this thief has been disbursing millions of dollars to his cronies for no job done.

What then do we have to do with SADA with its 'armed robbers' management? SADA should be disbanded pronto though the idea behind its set up should be continued because the North lags behind the South in terms of development but we don't need any agency or organization to carry it out.

My suggestion is that, money that should be specially set aside or put in SADA account should be specified in the national budget and allow the ministries to carry these projects out. The Akomfem and the tree planting projects should have been lodged in the Ministry of Agriculture account for it to embark on these projects. Irrigation and road construction projects in the North should be taken by the respective ministries. We already have so many officials sitting at the ministries with little to do and these officials can be assigned to see to the implementation of these projects in the North.

In disbanding the SADA organization, government can safe millions of dollars for salaries and consultant fees that are not necessary.

My educated and objective Northern brothers and sisters should join me in this crusade to disband SADA and and eliminate these middle men masquerading as SADA Officials whose only interest in SADA is to benefit them and not the poor farmers in the North or the 'KAYAYES' and 'KAYAKAYA' Northerners pushing trucks in Makola and Kejetia markets.

As a Ghanaian, I have an interest in the SADA projects to succeed but we don't need 'armed robbers' manning these projects. We have ministries that can carry out these projects for the betterment of Northerners and Ghanaians as a whole. "KANAWU, MAKA A MAKA" As it stands now, the only people benefitting from SADA are the Officials who have used their political and tribal connections to secure positions there like Agambire of RLG and other thieves whose only qualifications are just being from the North.

Justice Sarpong

(CARDINAL of TRUTH)

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