The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Asiedu Nketiah, has criticized Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for failing to deliver on his 2016 campaign promise that no community in Ghana would face issues with toilet and water facilities within two years of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) assuming power.

Speaking during a campaign tour in Lower West Akyem in the Eastern Region, Asiedu Nketiah labeled Bawumia’s promise as “419” (a term synonymous with fraud), pointing out that many communities continue to suffer from a lack of proper toilet facilities.

He noted that attempts by the government through the private sector (Ghana First Company) to construct toilet facilities across the country have left the projects stalled for over five years, leaving many communities without access to toilets.

Mr. Asiedu Nketiah cited his own hometown of Seikwa as an example, where a similar project remains incomplete, despite his attempts to intervene.

“The promise by Bawumia that no community in Ghana will have toilet and water problems was 419. When they came, they awarded many contracts for the construction of toilet facilities, but not a single contractor was paid, so they abandoned the projects. It is not only here, but even in my home town—Seikwa—the same thing. Sadly, I attempted to take over to complete it, but I was prevented," Asiedu Nketia explained.

During his 2020 election campaign, Dr. Bawumia disclosed that his government interventions have increased access to toilet facilities in Ghana from 14% in 2017 to 21% in 2019.

However, recent findings from the 2021 Population and Housing Census General Report on Water and Sanitation reveal that 17.7% of households in Ghana still lack access to a toilet facility, with the prevalence of open defecation being significantly higher in rural areas (31.3%) compared to urban areas (8.9%).

The regions most affected by the lack of toilet facilities are the Upper East (80.0%) and North East (79.7%), where eight out of ten households practice open defecation.

The National Chairman of NDC said the party has a comprehensive plan to tackle this problem when elected into power.

Johnson Asiedu Nketiah advised voters to guard against deception and vote-buying.

He said vote-buying by politicians affects development since instead of the monies being used to develop the communities, they are rather used by unscrupulous politicians to buy votes.

He warned that if this trend is encouraged by voters, politicians will deny community development.