The political atmosphere of the country is beginning to get cloudy as the two biggest parties, NDC and NPP are engaging in a partisan comparison of records and achievements to woo prospective voters.
After Former President Mahama unveiled his running-mate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on Monday, he made some promises which included the payment of the locked-up funds of customers of the collapsed financial institutions within his first year in office if re-elected, amongst others.
This got the Vice President Bawumia to sharply reply the NDC flagbearer with what his party failed to do while in office and how his government have been able to accomplish all these results within their first term.
The Vice President listed 50 achievements of the NPP government and juxtaposed it with what the Mahama-led administration did during his tenure.
This has also led to the NDC countering the list of Bawumia with 60 achievements of their government. The list included more of infrastructural projects and less of economical successes.
Below is the NDC’s list of Mahama’s achievements:
60 Credible Achievements of John Dramani Mahama government
1. He deployed emergency plants and speed up the completion of ongoing plants resulted in the addition of more than 800 megawatts (MW) of power within 18-months.
2. In addition to the Energy Sector Levy and ongoing works to restructure the legacy debt of the power utilities, which helped to stabilise the power situation.
Water and sanitation
On water, President Mahama increased investments in the provision of clean drinking water and cited the provision of boreholes, small-town water systems and major urban water treatment projects as some initiatives that had significantly increased access to clean drinking water.
3. The Teshie desalination plant,
4. The Kpong water expansion project
5. The ATMA project has expanded access to urban water supply in the capital, Accra.
6. The Wa water supply project
7. The 3Ks project, covering Kumawu, Konongo and Kwahu,
Roads and transport
John Mahama’s tenure of office had some of the most massive investments in the road sector in the history of the country. Some of the road projects include;
8. Achimota-Ofankor
9. Awoshie-Pokuase
10. Sofoline
11. Tetteh Quarshie-Adenta.
Other projects include;
12. The Kwame Nkrumah Interchange,
13. The Kasoa overhead bridge
14. The Airport Hills/Burma Camp network of roads,
15 The 37-El Wak-Trade Fair road.
16. The NDC government invested more resources in continuing the Eastern corridor roads
17. Asphalt overlay of roads in regional and district capitals
18. Cocoa roads across the country
Other ongoing projects before leaving office include;
19. The Tema Motorway Roundabout decongestion project.
20. The new bridge from Flower Pot Roundabout on the Spintex Road over the Accra-Tema Motorway to East Legon.
Projects ready to commence, such as;
21. The Obetsebi-Lamptey interchange
22. The Pokuase Interchange
23. The Motorway expansion project.
24. The Tarkwa- Bogoso- Anyanfuri road
25. Some Projects include;
Expansion of the Takoradi and Tema Harbours
Construction of Terminal(T3) of Kotoka International Airport
Sekondi -Takoradi- Kojokrom railway line
Central Markets in Kumasi and CapeCoast
Economy
25. John Mahama’s government inherited an economy that was running a high deficit, with increasing inflation and interest rates characterised by a rapidly depreciating currency.
He recalled the forum at Senchi and said it was an attempt to forge a consensus for a homegrown fiscal consolidation programme, noting that the outcome eventually became the basis for the International Monitory Fund (IMF) Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme that the country was implementing.
Health
26. During his tenure in office, a large number of health professionals trained under his administration to improve the healthcare delivery system of the country.
Health Projects
27. District Hospitals each with a capacity of 120 beds at Dodowa, Fomena, Kumawu, Abetifi among others. 6-District Hospitals each with 60 bed capacity at Tepa, Nsawkaw, Konongo, Salaga, Twifo Praso and the 100 bed Madina hospital, 120-bed Bekwai Hospital
28. The expansion in the utilisation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). In 2015, the out-patient utilisation of NHIS stood at 29 million, up from nine million in 2008.
The NHIS, on the whole, had also been improved under his administration to ensure that people, including the vulnerable, had access to quality healthcare.
29. Teaching Hospitals: 617-bed University of Ghana Teaching Hospital
The second phase of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Expansion Project
30. Regional Hospitals: 420-bed Ridge Hospital Expansion Project, Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, 250-bed Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sewua-Kumasi
160-bed Upper West Regional Hospital
31. Institutional Hospitals:
• 500-bed Military Hospital Project in Kumasi
• 104-bed Police Hospital Project, Accra
• 130-bed Maritime Hospital, Tema
32. Polyclinics
Five polyclinics (Phase III) in the Brong Ahafo Region at Nkrankwanta, Wamfie, Kwatire, Techimantia and Bomaa.
Ten polyclinics to be located at Besease, Gomoa Dawurampong, Biriwa, Etsii Sunkwa, Esikuma Gyamera, Agona Duakwa, Bimpong Akunfude, Ekumfi Naakwa, Twifo Atimokwa and Gomoa Postin, all in the Central Region.
Five 30-bed polyclinics to be sited at Adentan, Ashiaman, Bortianor, Oduman and Sege all in the Greater Accra Region.
33. Health Centres
18 Health Centres have been completed at Amasaman, Doffor, Pokukrom, New Jejeti, Paakro, Gwollu, Funsi, Sang, Northern Buipe, Manso Nkwanta, Abuakwa, Mase Sosekpe, Kedzi, Adamso, Kayoro, Timonde, Bonsu Nkwanta and Dadieso.
34. CHPS Compounds
Out of 2,948 functional CHPS zones, 1,260 have been constructed.
35. Eye Care Centre at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital
36. National Medical Equipment Replacement Programme: This US$264 million initiative has ensured the provision of critical diagnostic and treatment equipment for over 150 hospitals nationwide. These include all Teaching Hospitals in Ghana (Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, 37 Military Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital), all Regional Hospitals, 125 District Hospitals, 14 Health Centres and 8 mobile clinics.
Social protection
37. His administration helped cushioned the poor and vulnerable, many social protection programmes were introduced.
38. The number of people benefitting from schemes such as the School Feeding Programme, the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) and the Eban card, had been expanded to cover the majority of the poor and vulnerable population in the country.
Education.
39. The John Mahama government continued to support the provision of free textbooks and uniforms to pupils in public schools, and it has restructured and enlarged the school feeding program.
40. The provision of 10,000 free sandals to eligible pupils. This was his initiatives to follow through on raising the quality and inclusiveness of education for everyone in Ghana.
41. The school shift system, through which pupils run shifts due to lack of adequate classrooms, has now been eliminated in many of our communities. In Wa, Sunyani, Tarkwa, Dansoman, Krachi Nchumuru in the Oti Region and many other areas, school children can no longer skip school to play truant in the name of the school shift system.
42. In the area of Accelerated ICT Education, his administration improves upon ICT at the basic level, 81,000 basic school teachers were trained to enable them to acquire the requisite skills in the use of ICT in teaching and learning.
A total of 54,500 laptops were procured and distributed to basic school teachers and 60,000 laptop computers were distributed to public schools across the country.
43. A bill passed in his administration which includes Technical University Act, Act, 2016 (Act 992). This made some of the polytechnics changed to Technical Universities.
The University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD),
The Chartered Institute of Taxation Act, 2016,
The National Commission for Tertiary Education Bill,
National Accreditation and Qualification Authority Bills, 2015,
Ghana Book Development Council Bill and The Chartered Institute of Bankers Bill, 2015.
44. To facilitate the management of education delivery the Mahama led administration procured and distributed 500 vehicles to the educational institutions-senior high schools, universities, colleges of education and polytechnics.
45. In terms of School Infrastructure – A total of 1,856 out of 2,578 basic school projects have been completed under the Schools Under Trees programme. The remaining was due for completion. A number of teachers bungalows, education offices, sanitation blocks and 203 out of 232 classroom blocks includes the SHS E block has been completed.
Under the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), the Mahama led administration rehabilitated 345 KG classrooms, constructed 1,347 KG blocks and provision of 1,875 KG tables and chairs.
Agriculture
Job creation must also be supported by the expansion of opportunities in the agricultural sector. There is a need to secure sufficient supplies of food at affordable prices. Following our strong commitment to the modernisation of agriculture;
46. The government of Mahama increased the number of rice maize, yam harvesters. Additional emphasis has been put on grain storage facilities and the creation of boreholes for agricultural purposes.
47. Agricultural mechanisation service centres were established.
48. His achievements include reviving cotton farming in Northern Ghana.
49. Between 2009 and 2011, the government also rehabilitated several irrigation dams in the Greater Accra, Volta, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions.
50. Ghana produced more than 1m tonnes of cocoa in 2011, a significant increase over the output in 2008, which stood at about 680,000 tonnes.
Sports
In line with Government’s determination to develop sports infrastructure,
51. The 15,000 seater capacity Cape Coast Stadium.
52. Progressive prominence of Ghanaian sportswomen and men at the African Youth Games in Gaborone, Botswana in 2014, the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China in 2014, the Commonwealth Youth Games in Apia, Samoa in 2015, and the All-Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo in 2015.
Housing
Housing: Mahama government continues to invest heavily in the area of housing in a bid to bridge the housing deficit. An aggressive affordable housing programme has been rolled out to provide more Ghanaian families in the lower to the middle-income bracket with decent homes. The programmes being undertaken in this regard are –
53. The Affordable Housing Project at Saglemi in the Ningo-Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region.
54. “Nyame dua” Estates Under a PPP arrangement, Messrs Sethi Realty Limited has been allocated 95 acres of land at Kpone for the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units, branded “Nyame Dua” Estates.
55. Security Services Housing Scheme Phases 1 and 2 Government’s commitment to providing decent housing for the security services has been given meaning through the completion of 168 housing units with related infrastructure in Tema.
56. Keta Sea Defence Resettlement Housing Scheme.
57. Adenta Regeneration Project (SHC Gardens) The Adenta Regeneration Project Works on the Regeneration projects at Lartebiokorshie, Kaneshie, Kanda and North Effiakuma.
58. New Labadi Villas Housing Project
The Ghana Armed Forces housing project
59. Police Housing Project Government, through a Public-Private Partnership, at Cantonments in Accra.
60. Affordable Housing units started in 2006 at six sites in five regions namely, Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Upper West and Eastern.
