The former president of Ghana John Mahama has disclosed that the failed project by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has cost Ghana $12 million.
“Unfortunately, we have rather lost money, because almost $12 million was paid for no work“, Mr. Mahama stated.
Mahama noted that a project, which was initially praised as a success story for the ruling party, has been plagued by challenges and has resulted in financial loss to the state.
According to Mahama he observed that the ruling party claimed the project would be funded from the Government budgets, which he knew would be a challenge. He realized that relying on government funding for a nearly $1 billion project would make it vulnerable to the same obstacles that other projects dependent on the consolidated fund face. Unfortunately, his concerns were validated, and the project faced difficulties.
“I knew that that was going to be a problem. Because to have an almost $1 billion project funded from Government of Ghana budgets, then you can be sure that it will face the hazards that every other project that depends on the consolidated fund faces. And that is exactly what happened.”
Despite the failure of the project, the opposition has expressed support for the idea and has promised to revive it if elected to power. However, they have vowed to seek dedicated funding for the project to avoid the hazards that come with relying on the consolidated fund.
“We intend to continue but we’re going to look for a source of dedicated funding for it, so that we can push it from start to finish without the kind of hazards that projects like this face when they depend on the consolidated fund.”
Contrary initial assurances , the project has failed to deliver any tangible results, and the site remains empty. The opposition with Mahama has called for accountability and is demanding that those responsible for the failed project be held to account. “Somebody has caused financial loss to the state, and they must be held to account to come and answer what happened.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Jacklyn Worlali Afetormashie
