John Mahama
Former President John Dramani Mahama has rekindled a heated debate after claiming that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government cancelled all contracts he awarded under the cocoa roads projects.
He said he gave a lot of contracts but the government after cancelling them re-awarded them at a higher cost.
Govt Reply
However, the Akufo-Addo government has fought back, saying that during the tenure of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Mahama awarded road projects to the tune of GH?5.1billion when available fund for payment of the contracts was only GH?1.7billion under the cocoa roads projects, adding that all were done through sole sourcing.
It said Mr. Mahama’s government, after awarding the contracts, did not make any arrangement to source extra funding for the projects.
Speak Out Tour
The former President, addressing a rally at Kasapin in the Asunafo North Constituency of the Ahafo Region on his ‘Speak Out’ tour, has not relented in accusing the government of cancelling all cocoa road contracts that he awarded when he was in office.
Mr. Mahama, who is seeking to become President again after losing massively in 2016 as incumbent, said he gave many cocoa roads in the Ahafo Region on contract but President Akufo-Addo and his people cancelled everything.
“These people, after taking over the government, stopped all the contractors from working and the projects were abandoned. We are in the fourth year and we are not seeing anything,” he claimed.
Abronye Fire
Kwame Baffoe, aka Abronye DC, the NPP Bono Regional Chairman, whose area Mr. Mahama was touring, reacted to the former President’s cocoa roads claims by giving out details of what the government had been doing in the sector to discredit the former President.
He said the cocoa roads idea was mooted by the NPP government under Mr. J. A. Kufuor, adding that “it evolved over the years to what it is presently and it is an initiative we are proud of as a party and one which will continue as long as the NPP is in power.”
Clinical Audit
“What then will force an NPP government to suspend cocoa roads projects?” he queried, adding “the answer is not that this government is opposed to cocoa roads, as the purveyors of misinformation will have you believe, but it was due to the need to conduct a clinical audit of the contracts which were awarded under the John Mahama government after several anomalies were found and to allow for the re-scoping and proper alignment of funds to execute the projects.”
“It is improper for any government or head of a state institution to commit to contracts on behalf of Ghanaians without the proper cost assessment and the provision of a means to funding to pay for the projects,” he pointed out.
He said “for many of these contracts, the exact cost was impossible to determine. The standard practice of conducting proper appraisals and costing, with 10 per cent provisions for variations, had not been undertaken in many cases. Consequently, and not surprisingly, the construction cost of these roads kept rising and rising. Is it not proper to label road contracts which have been found to have cost Ghanaians an upward of 80 per cent more than what are their standard costs, as inflated contracts?”
Sole Sourcing
He said apart from the contracts being awarded through sole sourcing, most of them went to NDC members, family and cronies of the former President and the absence of funds for the contracts resulted in delayed payments to some contractors, leading to increases in project costs to the tune of some GH¢200 million.
Abronye said currently some 24 contractors have had their contracts terminated for non-performance while others have been given the go-ahead to continue their projects that were awarded to them by the previous government with limits duly placed on the expenditures involved.
“It is false that contractors with genuine claims about their contracts issued by the previous government are not being paid. GH?9,603,917.55 was paid to cocoa roads contractors during the 2016/2017 cocoa season. GH?496,872,500.00 was then paid during the 2017/2018 cocoa season. During the 2018/2019 season, the amount went up to GH?550,983,450.00 million and so far in the present 2019/2020 season, the figure stands at GH?123,639,516 million. This brings the total amount paid by this government for cocoa road contracts issued by the previous government to well over a billion Ghana cedis; the exact figure being GH?1,181,099,383.55.”
Abronye said even before the suspension, several roads at different stages of construction were allowed to continue until completion in 2017 and thereafter.
More Projects
He mentioned projects like Asutiano – Dormaa Akuamu – Akontanim road (10.7 km); Asumura – Tipokrom road (4.9 km), Kyeremasu – Akontanim road, Atebubu – Kwame Danso – Kojokrom road, Mim – Fetegya and Ahmadiya Hospital road, Pokukrom –Ahwerewa Bronum road (15.9 km), Fiankuma – Hia road (14.5 km), Kokofo – Asaman – Asaas road, Subriso Junction – Subriso road, Ntoroku Junction – Ntoroku road, Safokrom – Daaban road, Manfo – Subriso – Nfanti, Bekwai – Adankragya road (14.7 km), Kumawu – Timaate – Drobonso Town road and Offinso Town Roads, were allowed to continue.
He also mentioned the partial reconstruction of internal roads at Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Bitumen Surfacing of Akoase– Akadewaso road (9.5km), upgrading of Nsawam -Aburi Road (6.6 km) and Other –Total length – 14.9km, upgrading of Kete Krachi – Buya (10–30km) that continued.
There are also the resumption of upgrading, rehabilitation, partial reconstruction and bitumen surfacing of several roads in important towns and cities across the country, according to Abronye, which are progressing steadily, adding that “this government has awarded 43 new cocoa road contracts and is scheduled to add more and for the first time, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) used an open competitive bidding process to choose suitable contractors to award the contracts to.”
“The former President has clearly decided to launch these attacks at any opportunity he gets to address the chiefs and good people of the cocoa regions. I am sad to announce that former President has been reduced to a trafficker of misinformation,” he pointed out.
By Ernest Kofi Adu