Former President John Mahama has said all projects undertaken in his government had value for the money spent on them.
According to him, but for projects like the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and Kasoa interchanges, the traffic situation in Accra would have been worse.
“The Circle interchange is the longest overpass in West Africa and we ensured value for money,” Mr Mahama said.
Mr Mahama made the comment while reacting to claims that a majority of infrastructural projects by his government were inflated.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is on record to have said the Circle Interchange cost $260 million while four interchanges constructed by the NPP government cost $289 million.
The campaign, some political pundits say, contributed to the defeat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2016.
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Reacting to the issue on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Monday, Mr Mahama said Dr. Bawumia and the NPP were just “playing political propaganda”.
He said it was obvious they lacked knowledge about the engineering work that went into the construction of both interchanges.
“There don’t have that kind of reasoning to appreciate the work done. The scope of work of the two projects is totally different and so it is disingenuous for Dr. Bawumia to lump the cost of the two projects together and create the impression that same is inflated,” Mr. Mahama added.
The former President explained that the $172 million projects comprise the construction of a 200-meter Interchange Bridge, a new roundabout, drainage, lighting system, 33-kilometre Amasaman-Kasoa road and a 20-kilometer road in the Ga South municipality and Kasoa.
Based on this backdrop, he said the NPP’s propaganda has fallen flat, especially when they have been able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the projects were not inflated.
“The engineers who worked on the projects under me are still there, if the government thinks the projects have been inflated, they should prosecute them,” John Mahama challenged.
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