Minority exposes government over Volivo Bridge project

The Minority in Parliament has become aware of a publication in the Daily Graphic of Tuesday 14, November 2023 in which the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration claims to have secured a facility of about $100 million to construct the Volivo Bridge over the Volta River.

The said publication further claimed that the Akufo-Addo administration has constructed some 445.5km of roads in the Oti Region since 2017. This comes on the heels of a similar claim by President Akufo-Addo during the recent Hogbetsotso festival that his government has constructed some 432km in the Volta
Region.

These publications clearly form part of recent attempts by the inept Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to tout its non-existent record in road infrastructure, including laying claim to projects that they have no idea of their conception and actual execution.

For the records, the claims made by the government in the said publication are false. The facts are that the Volivo Bridge project dates back to 2016, following an agreement between the Government of Ghana and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a Japanese-funded Official Development Assistance loan of up to ¥11,239,000,000 (the equivalent of $100 million), for the construction of a new bridge across the Volta River on the Eastern Corridor Project.

The project design which was for the construction of a new cable-stayed bridge with a length of 520 meters, making it one of the longest in West Africa, was signed by then Finance Minister, Seth Terkper.

The construction of the new bridge was expected to strengthen the transportation capacity of the Eastern Corridor of Ghana, thereby stimulating economic activity both domestically and with Burkina Faso and other neigbouring countries. It was also intended to correct economic disparities in the area.

Despite inheriting this laudable project from the visionary NDC/Mahama administration, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government completely took its eyes off the ball for all these years. It is therefore shocking and perplexing that a government that has failed to honour its obligation suddenly turns round
to re-announce the project as though it was new, just to deceive Ghanaians, particularly those in the Volta and Oti Regions.

We wish to caution the Government to desist from its deliberate campaign of disinformation, especially about non-existent projects. It is a known fact that this failed Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has not only destroyed our economy but will also be remembered for its poor record in the area of infrastructure development. No amount of false narratives can change the NPP’s abysmal record.