The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, has described as “palpable and demonstrable falsehood” former President John Kufuor’s assertion that it was his government that constructed the Keta Sea Defence Wall as well as the Ho Polytechnic.
Ex-President Kufour, in a speech at his residence in Accra when the newly-elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North, Gifty Twum Ampofo, paid a courtesy call on him, said it was his administration that built the Keta Sea Defence Wall to protect the locals from having their lands and livelihoods eaten away by the sea.
Mr Kufuor also said it was during his tenure that the Ho Polytechnic was built. He also mentioned the Nkonya-Dambai road as evidence of his administration’s development of the Volta region, which is the governing National Democratic Congress’ strongest hold.
This was in reaction to President Mahama’s comments to the chiefs and people of Keta and Voltarians in general to disregard claims by the NPP that the NDC had done nothing for the region, though the area is considered as the party’s ‘World Bank.’
In his recent visit to the region, Mr Mahama said: “Our opponents know that the Volta Region is the World Bank of the NDC and I also say that it’s also the IMF of the NDC. Whatever our opponents can do to discourage you to make sure you don’t come out in your numbers and vote, they will do.”
“That is why you have known activists who are not NDC members who come and parade and pretend to be NDC youth and agitate our young people and say that NDC has not done anything for you. That is absolutely untrue. Every progress that has been made in this region in terms of electrification, water, among others have been made under an NDC government: from Jerry Rawlings’ time to Prof Mills’ time to my time.”
President Mahama said: “For those who do that propaganda, in the eight years when they had the opportunity, what did they do? Show me. So, we will not be distracted, we are doing a lot of work and we won’t stop doing it.”
To back the claims of the President, Mr Fuseini stated on 'The Big Issue', a news analysis programme on Citi FM that it was under the reign of former President Jerry John Rawlings that the Ho Technical Institute was given polytechnic status after its establishment in 1968.
“I am saying that what he said is false. Ho Polytechnic started as a technical institution in 1968 when middle form four people were enrolled to study joinery and other programmes. Former President Rawlings initiated a policy where every region was to have a polytechnic to upgrade and scale up human capacity and skills. That was when Ho Polytechnic and Tamale Polytechnic and many other polytechnics were created,” he explained to host Umaru Sanda Amdu on Saturday, 9 April 2016.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central also indicated that the Keta Sea Defence Wall project was done under the Rawlings administration.
“The sea defence wall was a campaign issue in 2000. They [NPP] had said that Rawlings had brought in some money and was protecting the Sea because he is from the Volta Region. I have gone to Voga and seen the Sea defence wall and Kufour cannot claim that he built the Sea defence wall in Voga. Did he change the company that was doing the Sea defence wall [after assuming office]?
He continued and we are even continuing now]. It is demonstrably and palpably false to think that the Sea defence wall was constructed by the NPP,” he stressed.
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