As power seems to be slipping through the hands of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), eager to come back to power in 2016 has begun fixing broken promises of the ruling party.
Capitalizing on the seemingly disorganized Mahama-led government, the NPP, even in opposition and facing serious internal challenges, has taken responsibility to assuage the suffering of the masses by rolling out pro-poor social interventions to boost their electoral fortunes.
Though yet to elect a flag bearer for the 2016 elections, the biggest opposition party is giving true meaning to claims that it is a government in waiting, and as such has kick started processes to solve ills in the society which ordinarily should be the responsibility of a party in government.
While Ghanaians, particularly fanatics of the ruling party thought it was a fluke when the Ashanti regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr Bernard Antwi Bosiako aka Chairman Wontumi, recently announced that his party has decided to provide its equivalent of �free� school uniforms to pupils across the country, The Al-Hajj can confirm the NPP meant business as the party is engaged in more �vote grabbing� activities to slim the chances of the ruling NDC come 2016.
Chairman Wontumi�s Uniforms
Addressing a well-attended rally at the NPP�s stronghold, Kumasi, dubbed �Ya Ye Den�, Chairman Wontumi announced to the awe of an ecstatic crowd and Ghanaians his party�s decision to freely donate three million school uniforms to pupils across the country due to what he described as �the insensitivity of the NDC government to the plight of Ghanaians�.
The distribution, according to Chairman Wontumi is the NPP�s own way of assisting the beneficiary pupils most of whose parents have been rendered poorer due to the �heartless� and failed policies of the NDC government.
The party has since begun distributing the school uniforms. Chairman Wontumi last Monday led a team to distribute 4000 school uniforms and 5000 pens at market places and some primary schools in the Ejura-Sekyeredumasi Municipality in the Ashanti region.
More Interventions
Aside the distribution of school uniforms, the NPP, resolved at snatching power from the NDC is also tackling infrastructural challenges the Mahama-led government is paying lip service to.
It was joyous moment for the NPP Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Madam Hawa Koomson and her supporters as they were greeted with thunderous applauds from residents and commuters of the Kasoa-Domeabra-Amasaman stretch including members of the governing NDC, for taking steps to tar a road in the locality that the NDC promised to construct if retained in power but failed to do.
The loud silence of the officials of the Awutu Senya, Ga South and Ga West Municipal Assemblis, and officials of the Roads and Highways Ministry on the deplorable Kasoa-Obom road which has in recent times gone from bad to worse, compelled Madam Hawa Koomson, to recently lead a group of NPP supporters, dressed in their party paraphernalia, to assist a construction firm she had engaged to reshape the road.
Led by an NPP branded van blaring Nana AKufo-Addo�s 2009 and 2012 campaign song �Nana Ye winner�, and intermittently chastising the NDC government for failing to honor it promises to the people, the NPP supporters, �drenched� in party colors were seen holding shovels, cutlasses, pickaxes and other tools helping to fill the potholes on the road.
Ironically, the operator of the grader working on the road was also clad in an NPP t-shirt which has Madam Hawa Komsoon and Nana Akufo-Addo on it.
Almost every passerby had a comment to make about the NPP MP and her party�s good works in the Awutu Senya East constituency.
An Age Long Problem
The 29 kilometer Kasoa-Obom road, which falls within the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly, Ga South Municipal Assembly and Ga West Municipal Assembly, has been dotted with deep gullies and craters since the 1990s but has not witnessed any major maintenance work.
The bad nature of the road became a major campaign issue in the 2012 elections with parliamentary candidates of the two major parties in the Awutu Senya East, Domiabra-Obom and Amasaman constituencies promising to fix it when elected.
About a month to the last election, the Ghana Highway Authority through the instrumentality of the NDC MP for Domiabra-Obom, DaoudAnumYemoh, and then MP for Trobu/Amasaman and former deputy Minister of Communications, Ernest Attuquaye Armah; erected a contractor�s sign post on the road which indicated that it would be reconstructed in 12 calendar months.
However, almost two years after the last elections, the road has been abandoned, and with the recent perennial downpour, it has become unmotorable.
While road users wail over the poor condition and the resultant exorbitant fares as a result of the bad nature of the road, drivers also dread plying their trade on the road.
NDC Supporters Back NPP MP
Madam Hawa Koomson�s kind gesture has court more support for her such that even NDC hardliners in the Kasoa area are vowing not to vote for their party in the 2016 elections because the party has failed them.
Master Paa Nii Coffie, who is a polling station executive of the NDC in the Domiabra-Obom constituency and a cabby in a chat with The Al-Hajj stated �Mahama has failed us�we are disappointed in him. How come an opposition MP is fixing a road we promised to construct? You know me very well and my affinity to the NDC, but I can tell you that Mahama will not get even 30 percent in the next election. As for the Awutu Senya East seat, they should forget about it. I don�t have my vote there but with what the woman is doing, she will retain the seat�even in Domiabra-Obom where I�m a polling station executive, they (NDC) will struggle to retain it.�
He explained that the 29 kilometer road has been divided among the three assemblies with the Awutu Senya East Assembly taking 6 kilometers and the remainder going toGa South and West assemblies.
According to him the Municipal Chief Executives for the three assemblies have done little to reconstruct the road, saying, it was not surprising that �what the NPP and her supporters are doing is being hailed by many.�
MCE�s Response
However, when the The Al-Hajj contacted the MCE for Awutu Senya East Assembly, Dr Nuhu Adams Timbile, he stated that his portion of the road has been awarded to a contractor through sole sourcing, adding �the contractor is just waiting for the rains to end then he would move to site.�
�My assembly covers 6 kilometers of the road. The Ghana High Way authority awarded the entire stretch of the road to a contractor, but due to lack of funds, the contractor is unable to move to site. Because of the bad nature of the road, we have awarded our section of it to another contractor,� Dr Adams explained.
Touching on the exploits of the NPP MP which is courting more support for her and the party, Dr Adams stated �engineers of Urban Roads have informed her that we have awarded the road to a contractor, but she wouldn�t listen. We don�t want to incur any judgment debt that is why we advised her to desist from what she intended doing.�
The MCE, who was also the NDC�s parliamentary candidate in the 2012 election, added that �because of political expediency, she has refused to heed our advice and she has gone ahead with her plans. The current state of the road required reconstruction not what she and her supporters are doing on it�, the MCE stated.
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