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The Deputy Information Minister, Pius Enam Hadzide, on Saturday, struggled to justify that the National Democratic Congress Green book of achievement was full of illusions.
A week after President Nana Akufo-Addo said the largest opposition party’s unprecedented projects only existed in the book, his deputy minister insisted those words came in a context.
“We must put the president’s comment in context and not be simplistic about it. My understanding is that it was a fair suggestion to make. It was misleading and misrepresentation on the NDC’s part.
“They claimed riding on the road could let you fall asleep but all these were all fantasies, he said on Newsfile, a current affairs programme on Joy FM.
He added that the Mahama-led NDC’s unprecedented achievements did not exist on the ground.
“If you go to page 60 of the green book. These projects were listed as Mahama projects. The Kpone water works, the Kwahu Ridge Waterworks, Konongo water project, Wa Water project…They were stated as John Mahama projects.
“If you take a look at the 2007 budget, you’ll notice the aforementioned projects was listed in the budget so it is indeed misleading,” he as defended the President.
But the host of the programme insisted that Mr Hadzide point out projects that did not exist in the book to which, the deputy minister said it was full of artist impressions.
He said the Atuabo port project, but Samson Lardi Anyenini explained that the book made it clear that it was an artist impression.
He said the NDC must know that infrastructure development was not about trophy projects in Accra or some few regional capitals.
“Infrastructure has to permeate the whole spectrum from the base. If you are talking about unprecedented, it truly does not exist in the green book. We have been going around, even in Accra, the infrastructure deficit is so huge,” he said.
The deputy minister argued that the NDC must not take credit for the various infrastructural development being enjoyed by Ghanaians.
The president contended that the so-called project was mainly a fantasy created by the NDC.
But, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, taking his turn said that former President Mahama never mentioned anywhere that he completed all the various projects as is being propagated by the NPP-led administration.
“I was part of those who drafted the book and l am telling you on authority that there is not a single project in this book that does not exist on the ground today or at the time we were doing it or that its status was known.
“I have no doubt in every introduction former President Mahama made.He made it clear that these projects were ongoing or in some cases, contracts were awarded. You should also bear in mind projects just materialise.
“They go through a process. So, l am saying for the record that there is not a single project that was captured in the book that does not exist on the ground.
He stated that the government could not argue on the basis of only five pictures out of the 584 infrastructural projects in the green book.
“The president said that the unprecedented infrastructure exists only in the green book and not on the ground. This is not the first time the president is saying this.
“Four years, President Akufo-Addo has been waging a war of affliction on the green book. The first time he said this was on an NPP platform in 2016.
“He was very specific that the green book was filled with artistic impressions which is not so,” he stated.
The debate on the current affairs programme took over the trends on social media.
Source: Ghanareport
