The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Savanna Region has accused the former president, John Drammani Mahama of turning the 2023 damba festival of Buipe-wura Jinapor into a campaign for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a statement signed by the party’s regional secretary and copied to dominancetv.com, he, Mr. Mohammed Issah said the NDC’s 2024 flagbearer has not been truthful and sincere with the people of Gonja-land regarding the works of his government therein.
Mr. Issah however used the opportunity to do what he described as “setting the records straight” on selected government projects in the area.
Read the full statement below:
For Immediate Release…
09. 10. 2023.
H.E JOHN MAHAMA’s CONTINUES POLARIZATION OF GONJA CULTURE: A RECIPE FOR BAD PRECEDENCE AND SIGN OF DESPERATION
Ghana’s democracy is,
significantly, being undermined because the opposition [NDC] and its flagbearer [John Mahama] do not offer any credible alternative to the governing New Patriotic Party. It is widely accepted that leadership or political excellence, as the case maybe, is built on effort, sweat and tears. Back home in Gonjaland or the Savannah Region, John Mahama and the NDC are simply feeding on sentiments, emotional blackmail, mind games and deceit without concrete deliverables apart from the usual “Cock & Bull secured funding rhetoric.”
The New Patriotic Party in the Savannah Region is amazed, that against the plea of the Yagbonwura, Bii Kunatu I and the numerous cry of Gonjaland not to politicize this year’s Damba festival, the former President defied the odds and desecrated the Buipe Paramouncy.
A then President who found it difficult to visit or celebrate his home, a former President who rejected several annual Damba invitations and at best delegated people, is now everywhere attending Damba even at the paramountcy level. We [the NPP] in the Region sounded this advice of neglect to him many times without a number but landed on deaf ears. The people now know that these visitations are going to be short-lived, and part of the emotional blackmail agenda.
At the 15TH ANNIVERSARY AND DAMBA FESTIVAL of YIRAM BUIPEWURA JINAPOR II, the former President once again missed the glorious opportunity to demonstrate allegiance to the Kingdom but turned it into a campaign ground by creating erroneous impressions while pontificating blatant and deliberate distortions about developments in the Buipe Traditional Area. We take this opportunity to set the records straight.
MPAHA SHS:
The Mpaha Community Senior High School was 40% complete in 2017. It was completed in 2018 and admitted its first students that same year. Today, two [2] more big dometries have been built for the school to accommodate boarding students. Never mind that this [Mpaha SHS] and the other E-Blocks were an Atta Mills project and not John Mahama. Facts are sacred.
THE BUIPE ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY CENTER:
The above facility, whose construction commenced in 2018, is one of six medical installations for which the Government secured an 80-million-euro facility from Raiffeisen Bank of Austria. The hospital, together with five others in Somanya, Sawla, Bamboi, Tolon, and Ketu North, was constructed by Vamed Engineering GmbH of Austria.
NTERESO WATER PLANT CLAIMS:
The plant was constructed without any distribution lines, but rather standpipes at Fufulso-Damongo Junction 4, Ntereso 2, Nyawuripe 1.
At the time the NDC left office in 2017, the said plant had been destroyed by flood, and the floating pump was completely destroyed. The facility equally owed NEDCO over 1 million Ghana Cedis in electricity bills.
This government [Akuffo Addo/Bawumia government] installed hybrid pumps, constructed solar power plant for the facility, constructed over 10km of transmition lines to Yapei, constructed 14 km distribution lines and provided 10 standpipes within Yapei Township. High level Concrate tank with a capacity 450 cubic Liters of storage was added. This feet cannot be attributed to a man whose only legacy for his own people continue to be “securing funding”.
THE BUIPE TECHNICAL INSTITUTE:
The Buipe Technical Institute is not and cannot be an establishment of the former President. It was first established in 2004 under the leadership of Hon. Zakaria Yakubu, the former Chief Executive of the area, as a Girls Vocational School but was absorbed as a Government institution in 2009. The people of Buipe and Central Gonjalanders called it “Pantloor” at the time.
THE SO CALL MPAHA-SALAGA ROAD:
This erroneous claim of a road called Mpaha-Salaga clearly demonstrates the ineptitude and incompetence of a former President who had no intention of developing his home Region. There’s no such traces of a road in the Region. It is a fabrication by the former President and his coaches. No such road exists.
What the Akuffo Addo/Bawumia government is delivering is a “tear rubber” 71km Bunjai-Fufulso road, that is linking the Eastern part of the Region to the western part. The Bunjai – Yala stretch of the road has been tarred as we speak.
The NPP Government is expanding road network in the region, tarring roads in District Capitals and extending to major towns.
THE BUIPE SAVACEM:
The Savannah Cement Factory was not established by the former President. The bare fact is that, the construction which begun in 2007 officially started production in 2010, nothing close to our brother who was a Vice President.
To conclude, we find the attitude and posture of our brother in the Region worrying. The fact that he continues to disrespect our sensibilities, even in the face of clarion calls by well-meaning citizens for unity and development. The former President must apologize to the good people of Buipe and Gonjaland in general.
It is also repugnant, that for eight [8] years as President and Vice President, John Mahama was only securing funds for projects and not completing any. The records have it for a fact that John Mahama did not complete a single hospital for the entire 8 years he was in government. Nana Addo and Bawumia, in less than seven [7] years, have started and completed three [3] hospitals, namely, Buipe, Bamboi and Sawla Hospitals, while Daboya and Kpalbe are at various stages of completion.
Mohammed Issah
Savannah Regional Secretary
0244227266
