General News of Thursday, 13 February 2020

Source: peacefmonline.com

'Infrastructure King' Mahama is coming back to complete projects - Okudzeto Ablakwa

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama

Former President John Dramani Mahama has been described as an “Infrastructure King” by the former Deputy Minister of Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who is certain that he [Mahama] will come into power in 2020 to put up more facilities to give a true meaning to the free Senior High School Policy that President Akufo-Addo has implemented.

According to him, the Mahama-led government in 2021 after winning the 2020 general elections will return to the Community Day Concept to complete the abandoned school projects which are at various stages of completion.

Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Hon. Ablakwa insinuated that if not for extreme partisanship and pettiness, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) should have completed the Community Day School projects within some months when they took over power from the NDC government.

“It will not take months to complete them but because of extreme partisanship and pettiness, NPP don’t want to do so because when they do, we will say it is President Mahama’s projects,” he asserted.

He, however, indicated that the NDC led by former President John Mahama with foresight will expand infrastructure projects similar to what happened under former President John Evans Atta Mills when he took over from former President John Agyekum Kufuor.

“In just a year, we were able to expand infrastructure under emergency system to be able to cater for the increased enrolment and that is why we are saying that based on that track record of 2010/2011 academic year, we can do it under the ‘infrastructure King’ whom everyone knows that when it comes to infrastructure, President Mahama is next to President Nkrumah; everybody knows this is a fact," he indicated.

“If you have the political will, if you are determined, you will rapidly expand your infrastructure. You can do it and so we are saying that the double-track has brought truancy which is affecting quality education; because we are not just interested in everyone going to school because there is nothing more dangerous than half-baked education where those graduating may probably not spell their names and they are not useful citizens."

“They have abandoned the projects and they are rather bastardizing them. We will seriously address the infrastructure gap and when we do that, we will eliminate double track,” he assured.