After 8 Years And GHC248 Bn, 1 Interchange Is Not Enough – Bawumia

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Running Mate to Nana Akufo-Addo, has chided the John Mahama – NDC administration for celebrating the construction of one interchange and trumpeting its mediocre record in the last eight years, especially when a comparative look at the performance of the Kufuor-NPP administration shows that with far less resources, it did much more than the current government.

Referring specifically to the cacophony of noises that has surrounded the commissioning of the Circle Interchange, Dr. Bawumia noted that the NPP with GHC20 billion was able to institute several social intervention programmes, undertake major transformational projects in all sectors and in all parts of the country as well also build eight interchanges in eight years.

Speaking at the St. John Bosco College of Education in Navrongo on Thursday, Dr. Bawumia wondered how a government which had had over GHC248 billion in resources could be in such a jubilant mood over one interchange they had put up also in eight years.

“Can you imagine, with GHC248 billion, they have collapsed the economy, they have created hardships, they have created high unemployment, our Northern schools cannot get feeding grants in the senior high schools and we have major challenges in this economy  and today they want us to be happy because they have built an Interchange at Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

“With GHC248 billion, they have been able to build only one interchange in eight years. With only GHC20 billion, the NPP built eight interchanges in eight years so they cannot try and hoodwink us by saying they have constructed Kwame Nkrumah Interchange”, he said.

Moving into the inherent corruption and incompetence that had bedevilled Ghana under the NDC, Dr. Bawumia revealed to the astonishment of the students gathered that Circle Interchange costs almost ten times what was spent on the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange.

The Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange was constructed for around US$9 million while the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange was constructed for 75million Euros (around 82 million dollars)

“The Kwame Nkrumah Interchange costs almost 10 times what the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange cost and we are definitely not impressed because it is not enough ”, he indicated.

Dr. Bawumia urged the students of the St. John Bosco College of Education to work actively to ensure the defeat of the NDC in the upcoming election and noted that with the NDC, Ghanaians will never witness the true benefits of their taxes and resources as the NDC has decided to prioritise corruption and not the wellbeing of the people.

“We are going to get rid of this corrupt government. With this government when you say Teacher Training Allowances, they say there’s no money; when you say Nursing Training Allowances, they say there’s no money but when you say Woyome, then there’s money, GYEEDA, Bus Branding, then there’s money. Every corrupt scheme they find money but when it comes to money for the social and economic wellbeing of the people, then there’s no money”, he added.

Dr. Bawumia toured the Navrongo Central and Chiana-Paga constituencies on the 3rd day of his Upper East Regional Tour which has already seen him tour the Bongo, Nabdam, Talensi, Bolgatanga Central and Bolgatanga East constituencies.