The New Patriotic Party (NPP) vice presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has exposed the lack of value for money regarding infrastructural projects under the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration led by President John Mahama, saying some of the contracts were/are clearly inflated.
“The Mahama government has touted its achievements in the last eight years in its Green Book in the area of infrastructure (roads, water projects, hospitals, schools, etc.). The burning question by most Ghanaians is that if this NDC government has increased Ghana’s debt from GH¢9.5 billion to GH¢105 billion so far, can they point to an equivalent value of projects?” he underscored.
“Unfortunately, and sadly, the answer is no. The government is attempting to hoodwink Ghanaians by claiming a massive increase in infrastructure investment,” he noted.
At a public lecture titled, “The State of the Ghanaian Economy – A Foundation of Concrete or Straw,” last Thursday in Accra – which focused on the economy – Dr. Bawumia shredded the government’s economic performance into pieces, taking his time to prove to Ghanaians that the Mahama administration had collected so much loans but has less to show in the area of infrastructural development.
Dr Bawumia, a distinguished economist and former deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, said the ruling party is rather taking Ghana backwards with its policies, citing declining growth rate from 14 percent inherited by John Mahama to the current 3.9 percent.
Notable Projects
The NPP strong man cited projects such as Kumasi Airport runway, the much-talked-about AMERI deal, hospital projects and many others, to back his claim that some of the major contracts were inflated compared to similar projects executed in other jurisdictions.
“I saw two virtually identical sets of teachers’ bungalows in Dambai Teacher Training College this year; one constructed under the NPP in 2007 and the other by the NDC in 2011. These two buildings are side by side. The one constructed by the NPP cost some GH¢195,000 whereas the one constructed by the NDC cost some GH¢900,000 (4.6 times more). What accounts for this huge difference?” he wondered.
He said another example was a runway rehabilitation alone at the Kumasi Airport which he said cost the country $23.8 million, whereas a proposed airport at Ho was estimated at $25 million, pointing out, “It is on record that Ethiopia is building its Shire Airport at a cost of $21 million.
Ameri Deal
“The issue of the Ameri Power Deal is one episode of issues bordering on corruption and the failure to ensure value for money for the people of Ghana,” Dr Bawumia observed.
He said the government secured power plants for $510 million, even though the same plants could be acquired for $220 million on the market, adding, “The government has claimed that the manufacturers of the plant, GE, would have provided the plant at a far more expensive price. The situation of overpricing of contracts through the use of sole sourcing as the procurement method of choice is very typical of this John Mahama NDC government.”
According to Dr. Bawumia, GH¢3.65 million from oil funds which was earmarked for a supposed Osu railway, was used for the branding of 116 Metro Mass Transit buses, saying, “The company that actually did the work of employing Ghanaians to do the branding of the buses says it charged GH¢11,600 as cost for the branding of all the 116 buses.”
According to him, “Egypt is constructing a 1,800 Megawatt gas power plant at a cost of $1.3 billion. Abu Dhabi is constructing a 1,600 Megawatt gas power plant at a cost of $1.5 billion. Together, Ameri and Karpower will cost Ghana over $2 billion over five years, and yet will give us 505 Megawatts.”
Legon Vs Ridge
Dr. Bawumia noted that the University of Ghana acquired a loan facility of US$217 million from the Israeli Government to build a 600-bed teaching hospital at Legon saying. “The cost of building a new 600-bed teaching hospital by the University of Ghana is $30m less than the cost of renovating and expanding Ridge Hospital from 200-bed to 420.
“If you sum the cost of all the infrastructure expenditure undertaken by this NDC government from loans, grants and taxes between 2009 and 2015, it is less than $7 billion. Meanwhile, the government has borrowed some $39 billion; so where is the rest of the money?”
IMF Director
“Indeed, according to the Managing Director of the IMF, most of Ghana’s borrowing has been used for consumption and not for investment. The overpricing of contracts, corruption and the absence of value for money considerations are partly responsible for this,” he echoed.
He said investment in infrastructure under the Mahama-led NDC government had been on the decline.
Massive Resources
The NPP vice presidential candidate stressed, “Indeed, given the resources at its disposal, one should expect at least four to five times the quantum of investment that the NDC claims to have undertaken.”
He said with the huge resources at the disposal of the NDC, the government should have solved the water and energy problem, put in place at least 1,000km of asphalt road in each region as well as transformed agriculture in the Northern Region, Afram Plains and the rest through investment in machinery, irrigation and dams.
By William Yaw Owusu