Mahama’s record in the Upper East Region was a monumental failure, Bawumia says
Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia says Mahama took advantage of the people of the North and failed to develop the area while he was in power
The vice-president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has questioned the development record of the former president, John Mahama, in the Upper East Region during his eight years in the Office of the President.
Addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of Mirigu in Chiana Paga during the first day of his tour of the Upper East Region, Dr Bawumia said Mahama took advantage of the people of the North.
He challenged him to name a single development project his government undertook in the Upper East Region under the failed Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) initiative.
“The people of Upper East, I know you will recall that in 2008, former president Mahama came to this region and the North and told us we should vote for him because he was our Northern brother. That we should vote for him because he was our Northern brother,” Dr Bawumia said.
“He went into office for eight years as vice-president and president. Can the Upper East tell us: what exactly did John Mahama do for the Upper East Region for eight years?
“What legacy did John Mahama leave in the Upper East Region after eight years?” Bawumia asked.
“The signature development programme for the Northern Region was SADA. Upper East Region, what are the projects that SADA left behind? Can you point to any project after $100 million? Where are the projects? Of course, we know about the guinea fowls that flew to Burkina Faso.”
Dr Bawumia expressed disgust at the manner in which $100 million was misused by the Mahama government to the detriment of alleviating poverty in the North, as well as developing the Northern regions of Ghana.
“They did not do any project, they spent the money. You have money to help your people, to eliminate the poverty of your people, and you engage in projects of guinea fowls flying to Burkina Faso.”
Akufo-Addo’s commitment to Northern development
The vice-president said further that, unlike the former president Mahama, who wasted $100 million under the guise of developing the North but in fact neglected the development of the Northern regions, President Akufo-Addo has demonstrated his commitment to the development of the North with several visible projects throughout the Northern regions and the Upper East in particular.
“Akufo-Addo’s vision is a different vision. With Akufo-Addo, you have your other brother, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as vice-president, and we are delivering,” Bawumia said.
“So far in Upper East alone, we are doing 1,488 projects and we have completed 688 projects in four years. We have begun the biggest investment in Northern Ghana since independence, which is the Pwalugu Dam.
“In addition to infrastructure, the NPP has introduced Planting for Food and Jobs to boost agriculture, One District, One Factory, One Village, One Dam, One Constituency, One Ambulance, NABCO, restoration of teacher and nursing training allowances, free senior high school education, which have impacted positively on the lives of the people of the Upper East Region.
“Does the NDC under John Mahama have any comparable policies during their eight years in office?
“In John Mahama’s eight years, not one road was completed in the whole of the Upper East Region. In eight years, they did not complete one road. Today, we are virtually done with the Bolga-Bawku road, amongst others, in under four years.”
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