<<Print>>

In the year 2008, the Kufuor-led NPP administration built the Jubilee House to accommodate the presidency which had then been cocooned in the old slave Castle, even though we had been independent for close to 50years at the time.

When the project was being executed, NDC propagandists described it a complete waste of the taxpayers’ monies and even vowed to turn it into a poultry farm, if they won power.

That piece of iconic landmark was finally completed, and when then president-elect Atta-Mills was given a tour of the facility, he described it as an “IMPRESSIVE EDIFICE”. But due to their negative propaganda against the project, they were not able to move into it till their first term of office was ending.

It was just around the same period that, under the recommendation of the military establishment, the Kufuor government placed an order for presidential jet and other military equipment. This move was also used as a propaganda football for senseless political point-scoring, where it was described as outlandish and NPP’s affinity for luxury while there was so much hunger.

But as fate would have it, NPP narrowly lost the 2008 elections, and upon assumption of power, the NDC government, in addition to the jet procured by the previous NPP administration, ordered an Embraer with heavily over-bloated price tag, $1m portable gangway and $3m Airplane garage.

It was these fraudulent transactions which were led by then Vice President John Mahama that, according to Martin Amidu, an inquiry was commissioned by then President Atta-Mills to investigate his Vice

With nearly 8years gone by, the John Mahama-led NDC government has since shelved the work of that enquiry into the procurement processes and the matter has been tightly kept under wraps.

Today, the presidential edifice which was to be turned into a poultry farm has become a centre-piece of the presidency where, rather unfortunately, an officially sanctioned enterprise of ‘CREATE, LOOT and SHARE’ thrives. Also, NDC government appointees caught in the web of massive corruption are given safe refuge there.

Propagandists of then opposition NDC who vehemently spoke against procurement of military equipment and construction of a presidential office because they claimed it did not make economic sense due to the closeness of the general elections, are today embroiled in corruption-laden bogus $300m security infrastructure deal, of which the delivery is to be made on November 30, 2016, only one week to elections.

Coupled with this is another shady bore-hole contract by PURC whose figures are outrageously over bloated just to siphon state coffers into private pockets. And rather pathetically, such acts of blatant looting of state coffers are going on, when the state cannot afford common chalk for basic schools and salaries of nurses not being paid for years.

This therefore calls for a massive total rejection of the John Mahama-led corrupt and inept NDC at the polls on December 7, in order to pull our country from total apocalypse, and back on track for socioeconomic recovery.