Statement: NDC should stop the propaganda projects

The Central Regional Secretariat of the New Patriotic Party is challenging the Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Ama Benyiwa Doe, to come out of her usual propaganda cloak this time and let the whole world know where and when the two hundred and twelve (212) classroom blocks were provided in 2009 for schools that were operating under trees within the Central Region. Also, Richard Quashigah, NDC national propaganda secretary, and Hon. Adu Asare, NDC MP for Adenta, should tell us in plain language where the more than 1000 school blocks provided for schools that were operating under trees can specifically be located in the country. On page 14 of the 29th July, 2010 edition of The Ghanaian Times, Mrs. Benyiwa Doe was quoted as saying “Two hundred and twelve classroom blocks were provided in 2009 for schools that were operating under trees” in the central region. We see this to be the usual propaganda which is the NDC’s stock in trade. We thought that Mrs. Benyiwa Doe had turned over a new leaf after she confessed before the Appointment Committee of parliament that all the things she said prior to the 2008 elections were ‘political talk’. We would like to know from the Regional Minister the number of schools in the central region that were operating under trees before she assumed office. How could the NDC government build two hundred and twelve (212) classroom blocks for schools that were operating under trees in the central region within a year that the NDC government had just assumed office and was trying to find its rhythm? The Regional Minister gets more exposed when one takes a critical look at the 2010 fiscal budget of the NDC government and the Regional Minister’s own statement in the Ghanaian Times. In their own 2010 budget, where the NDC government proposes to provide classroom blocks for schools operating under trees in the country, the target is 165 for the whole country per paragraph 143 of the 2010 fiscal budget. How could 212 classroom blocks be provided for schools operating under trees in the central region alone in 2009 but the target for the entire country in 2010 is 165 and central region’s share is 65? Is it not strange? Per Mrs. Benyiwa Doe’s statement in the The Ghanaian Times that “the government was spending GH¢9,100 to construct 65six-unit classroom blocks with ancillary facilities for basic schools which hold classes under trees” in 2010, how could more than three hundred percent of the figure for 2010 be provided in 2009 in which the NDC government had just assumed office and had cut down on expenditure to virtually every sector. How could this be possible in a year where the construction sector registered negative growth? There are seventeen (17) Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies in the Central region and if what Mrs. Benyiwa Doe is saying is true, then on the average, each metropolitan, municipal and district assembly in the region had twelve classroom blocks for schools operating under trees in 2009. We would be most grateful if the Regional Minister could tell us where specifically we can locate these facilities within the region. Moving forward, it is interesting to note that it is not only the Central Regional Minister who is spewing such deceit about this ‘schools under trees project’ but a deliberate attempt by the NDC to deceive the public. The NDC MP for Adenta, Hon. Adu Asare, on Monday, 16th August 2010, said on Peace Fm’s Kokrokoo programme that the NDC government had provided more than 1000 school blocks for schools operating under trees in the country. This statement was repeated by Richard Quashigah, NDC national propaganda secretary, on the same day August 16 ,2010 , on Joy FM’s 6 pm news that the government had provided more than 1000 school blocks for schools that were operating under trees in the country. As for Quashiga, we can forgive him because he heads a department within the NDC that has the duty to propagate lies. But an MP who represents the good people of Adenta should always be factual but not to engage in the usual propaganda mantra of the NDC. All that they are saying are lies because even in the year 2010 that the NDC government makes it a policy to provide buildings for schools operating under trees, the target is 165 for the entire country per paragraph 143 of the 2010 budget as quoted earlier. How could the government provide more than 800 classroom blocks for schools operating under trees in the country between April and December, 2009? We ask this because the first budget of this government was approved by parliament by March ending, 2009; hence the government started implementing its policies from April, 2009. How could more than 800 school blocks be provided for schools operating under trees in a year where virtually all construction projects were frozen by this government? Quashiga and Hon. Adu Asare should tell us where these projects can be located in the country. We are making it clear to the NDC in the Central Region and also at the national level that the era where the NDC could tell lies and get away with it is over. We are watching with the eagle’s eye all the activities of this government and no where can they concoct figures and force it down the throat of the good people of this country. The electorates now demand actual results and not propaganda projects. If this is part of the grand agenda by the NDC to cover up their non performance towards 2012 elections, then it should be clear to them that they have failed in advance. In another development, the youth wing of the New Patriotic Party in the Central region would like to know the whereabouts of the jobs promised the youth of the region as a result of the revival of CEDECOM. The president, in his state of the nation address to parliament, talked about the revival of CEDECOM to provide jobs for the youth of this region. This promise was also captured in the 2009 budget and the honourable Regional Minister also echoed it when she appeared before the Appointment Committee of parliament last year. After more than 18 months of the Atta Mills’ presidency, the youth of this region see the CEDECOM jobs to be a mirage and therefore no improvement in the unemployment situation amongst the youth in the region. We cannot see any job opportunities being created by CEDECOM for the teeming youth within the region. The youth wing is therefore calling on the president and the NDC government to make good the “adze wo fie a, oye” slogan of the NDC in 2008. RICHARD TAKYI-MENSAH SIGNED REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER TEL: 0249167226