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Opinions of Saturday, 18 August 2018

Columnist: K. Badu

Mahama doesn’t own Mahama’s projects

Former President John Mahama Former President John Mahama

I thought I was dreaming when skimming through the unfortunate news about the NDC’s stone-pelting homicidal brats, but I was not. I was wide awake. The NDC hoodlums indeed pelted the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Badu with stones for attempting to inaugurate one of the much-touted Mahama infrastructural projects in the Central Region. How pathetic?

According to the ill-informed leader of the NDC stone throwing scumbags, since the NPP operatives somehow failed to acknowledge the said Mahama project, the NPP government has no business completing and inaugurating the Government of Ghana’s project. How bizarre?

In fact, I could not contain my arousing disgust when I heard the playful leader of the NDC stone pelting bandwagon insisting somewhat naively that the NPP operatives can only be allowed to go near the NDC’s uncompleted projects if they render an unqualified apology to Ex-President Mahama. How unfortunate?

As a matter of fact, we choose to elect a government to oversee our national affairs. And, we, in turn, are obliged to pay taxes to the elected government so as to run the country smoothly.

In addition, the elected government has our unwavering support to go for prudent loans to support the day-to-day management of the country. In essence, we (the citizens) pay for all the expenses pertaining to the management of the country.

It was for that reason that I was in agreement with President Mahama for suggesting somewhere in 2008 that it is an exercise in mediocrity for any government to take delight in infrastructural projects.

Somehow, Ex-President Mahama meant to suggest that every lousy government could easily undertake that role of governance. By inference, the erection of infrastructural projects is as easy as ABC.

No offence intended, though, Madam Akua Donkor of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) could put up more infrastructural projects if given the opportunity.

To be blunt, and rightly so, since discerning Ghanaians are obliged to pay taxes, it would be boundlessly unconscionable for any government and its teeming supporters to hide behind social amenities and infrastructural projects such as public toilets, schools, roads, water, electricity, amongst others.

After all, to whom much is given, much is expected. It is, therefore, worth emphasising that President Kufuor left a total debt of around 9.5 billion Ghana Cedis in 2009. However, our total debt ballooned to around 122.4 billion Ghana Cedis as of September 2016.

This means that Mahama and his NDC government added more than 113 billion Cedis within a short space of seven and half years.

We should, therefore, venture to stress that the said uncompleted infrastructural projects cannot be the bona fide properties of the members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

I must thus confess that I unhesitatingly admire President Akufo-Addo and his NPP’s government’s enthusiasm towards completing most of the uncompleted infrastructural projects initiated by the NDC government and funded by the Government of Ghana.

Apparently, the erstwhile Mahama administration abandoned the vast majority of the uncompleted infrastructural projects, including the important Kumasi-Accra high road which former President Kufuor initiated.

Indeed, the NDC government blatantly failed to complete most of the projects former President Kufuor initiated, including ‘Sofoline interchange (Kumasi), all the affordable housing projects, the mini dams meant to provide electricity to small towns and many other abandoned projects started by the previous NPP government.

It is absolutely true that we have over the years been electing terrible economic managers who cannot see their backsides from their elbows and have only succeeded in sinking the economy deeper and deeper into the mire through corrupt practices.

Unfortunately, ever since they lost the 2016 election, the brassbound loyalists of the National Democratic Congress, who are still nursing their wounds, have vowed to make the country ungovernable. Regrettably, however, they prefer to call themselves true patriots. How pathetic?

Believe it or not, a large portion of Ghana’s scarce resources, unfortunately, went down the drain due to the mismanagement and the wanton sleazes and corruption perpetrated by the officials of the erstwhile Mahama administration.

Apparently, discerning Ghanaians raised concerns over many bribery and corruption scandals such as SSNIT, SUBA, SADA, Woyome, Bus branding, Brazil World Cup, NCA amongst others which invariably distorted Ghana’s economy, threatened the fundamental human rights and subverted the institutions that guarantee stability.

Nevertheless, Ex-President Mahama and his NDC government apathetically protected the corrupt public officials, including the crocodile tears shedding Brazil World Cup cabal who revoltingly bought a ball of ‘nkran dokono’ at an amazing price of $20.00, a whole coconut for $200.00 and paid the Brazilian escort an incredible $4000.00 per journey to a local market.

That notwithstanding, the loyalists NDC supporters would want discerning Ghanaians to believing that the erstwhile NDC government provided exceptional governance. Indeed, vague apprehension of patriotism exists in the minds of many Ghanaians, who prefer narrow party colouration to defending the national interests. How pathetic?

Well, whichever way you may place the argument, it is absolutely true that if discerning Ghanaians had not graciously intervened by showing the ravenous and phlegmatic NDC government the exit during the 2016 election, the dreadful errors in decision-making and the rampant sleazes and corruption would have wiped out Ghana off the world map without a trace.