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Press Release
CRUSADERS FOR CHANGE
November 03, 2014
ATUABO GAS PROJECT HAS
COST GHANA $2BN IN CORRUPTION AND
INCOMPETENCE
The Crusaders For Change (CFC) has
intercepted a song produced by the ruling
John Mahama government and a budget totaling
15 billion cedis (1.5million Ghana cedis),
which was among others used to produce the
song and with the rest expected to be used
to distribute the song widely on various
radio stations and through music vans which
will be deployed to various villages to
spread the song.
The song according to the document
intercepted is expected to play a key role
in the lies the NDC will spew in order to
retain power in 2016 and was sang by one
Akwadaa Nyame, as he introduced himself on
the track.
The song, very characteristic of the NDC,
lists various projects, some of which have
not even commenced, in an attempt to fool
Ghanaians once again. It also proceeds to
curse and insult, in very clear language,
all Ghanaians who criticize the government
and complain of the corruption, incompetence
and attendant hardships being witnessed
under John Mahama and the NDC.
A chorus in the official NDC song says,
“Fire should burn Ghanaians who complain
against the President.”
The NDC which has made Ghanaians poorer and
their party leaders and their families
richer beyond measure are now putting a
curse on the millions of us whose money they
have stolen to enrich themselves.
The song rattles a long list of uncompleted
projects. Including the Kwame Nkrumah
Interchange, which it says has allowed the
place to look like an advanced “abrokyire”
city in the West. Other projects include the
Tamale International Airport, SADA Rice
farm, Eastern Region University and Kumasi
Shoe Factory.
The truth is that the few projects mentioned
have cost the country extra billions of
dollars in waste and theft. Monies that
could have been used to fix rural roads, tar
urban roads, built more than 30 flyovers in
our cities to ease traffic is being used to
build only two or three and we are expected
to praise this wicked and criminal use of
public funds!
ATUABO GAS PROJECT
The propaganda song, which the NDC is ready
to waste 15billion cedis of our taxpayers’
money on, lists the Atuabo Gas Project as
one of the major achievements of the
government.
It is comical that the NDC and John Mahama
will even seek to claim credit for the
Atuabo Gas project after willfully causing a
loss of well over two billion dollars.
According to analysis made by experts, the
cost of the gas project has been inflated by
over $500 million. Over $1.4 billion has
already been spent on the project, which is
headed by a man who was jailed 10 years go
for causing financial lost to the state.
Also, the four-year delay in completing the
project borders on criminality. The delay
has cost the nation an additional $1.3
billion. In May 2014, Kofi Ellis, Director
of Planning & Business Development of the
Volta River Authority disclosed to the media
that VRA spends about $50 million every 18
days to import crude oil to power its
thermal plants and that only half of that
would be needed to buy natural gas to
generate the same amount of power.
Thus, Ghana could have saved $1.3 billion if
the NDC had set to work immediately after
taking office in 2009 to get the gas plant
project done.
It should be recalled that the NPP
administration led by President Kufuor made
all the necessary plans to construct the
Atuabo Gas Plant before the NPP lost power
in 2008.
Under the well thought-out plan, the
three-way project was going to be done in
only 2 years, with the offshore pipe,
onshore pipe and the plant itself all being
constructed at the same time.
Under the NPP plan, Ghanaians would have
started enjoying Gas from as early as 2010.
Production of the gas was supposed to
commence simultaneously with the production
of Oil.
However, the greedy NDC scrapped the plans
of the former government and took another
three years of infighting for control of the
project before finally initiating a totally
new and far expensive project in a
politically chosen site with no added
benefits in 2011.
Due to this recklessness, Ghana has lost
$25million every 18 days since 2010 due to
the late take off and completion of the
project. Had John Mahama and his NDC
prioritized the national interest and
continued with the Gas Project we would not
have been enduring the ‘dumso-dumso’.
Has government even calculated the billions
of dollars that the economy has suffered
because of this avoidable incompetence in
the supply of power to fuel industries and
other businesses? Some economists put this
hidden cost at over $10 billion a year!
The question the CFC wants to ask John
Mahama is this: is this the record he is
proud of? How many hundreds of millions of
dollars has John Mahama and his government
made just on their decision to recklessly
review the project and award the contract to
their favorites?
TAMALE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Another project the propaganda John Mahama/NDC
song mentions is the Tamale International
Airport. Before we even proceed, CFC
believes that the move to get another
International Airport for the country is a
laudable one and we want to make that
statement emphatic.
However, what the CFC cannot condone is the
characteristic theft of the NDC, which has
found its way into the Tamale International
Airport project.
CFC is emphatically stating that the project
has been long calculated by John Mahama as
one of the ways he can stash his bank
accounts and that of his family. It is for
this reason why as sitting Vice-President
then, he told the whole country that the
project would cost $174 million while on a
visit to Brazil in 2011. It was that visit
which sought and gained the approval of the
Brazilian government to finance the project.
It should therefore not really surprise
anyone that after borrowing their way into
unprecedented economic crisis and facing
pressure to cut down borrowing, they have
been forced to bring the cost of the project
downward to $100milion
The Crusaders for Change still insists
however that Tamale International Airport
project should cost not more than
$40million. $40million is more than enough
to upgrade the Tamale Airport to first class
international standard. In other words,
after finding various schemes to steal from
the people of the North using so called
afforestation and Guinea Fowl rearing
schemes, John Mahama is using the Tamale
International Airport to steal at least
another $70million from his fathers,
mothers, brothers, sisters and children in
the North.
This $70million could have been invested
into developing industries in and around
Tamale and the North which could have also
increased the traffic and economic value of
the Airport as well as provide the vitally
needed employment and income for the Youth
of the North.
CIRCLE INTERCHANGE AND KASOA FLYOVER
Another project the propaganda song
mentioned was the Circle Interchange. Indeed
the song went as far as to say that because
of the Circle Interchange Accra had been
transformed to the status of a big European
or American city. Yet, this is a project
which is not even 30% complete!
The Circle Interchange like all the other
projects mentioned above, is another conduit
for massive theft of the taxpayers’ money.
If a government that has borrowed more than
$26 billion in 6 years can boast of a
flyover as a major achievement then Allah
help us!
It is instructive to recall that the whole
N1 project which is a 14.1 kilometre road
from Tetteh Quarshie to Mallam with two huge
interchanges at Dimples Junction and Mallam
Junction, 6 footbridges, 13 Bus Bays, 23
Minor Junctions, 2 transport terminals and
link roads like the GIMPA-Dzorwulu Junction
road cost $115million, including over
$12million paid as compensation to
individuals and firms whose property were
affected by the construction.
However, three years after the completion of
the N1, the NDC is charging the Ghanaian
taxpayer $100million for the construction of
one relatively small interchange at Nkrumah
Circle. This project should have cost less
than $30 million from all the checks we have
made. Which means, $70 million of our money
will go into the pockets of John Mahama, his
cronies from Ghana and Brazil.
It is this same John Mahama who brought the
highly inflated Embraer Jet deal from Brazil
which President John Atta Mills was forced
to cancel and ordered that his Vice
President then, John Mahama, should be
investigated.
Worse of all the scams is the yet to be
commenced Kasoa Flyover which John Mahama
claims will cost the Ghanaian $174million.
In short, the NDC wants us to believe that
constructing a flyover in Kasoa will cost
more than the whole N1 project with two
Grade separation interchanges and 14.1
kilometres of 1st Class Asphalted Road.
All experts the CFC has spoken to conclude
that the planned Kasoa flyover should cost
just around $30million. We believe this
Kasoa flyover is also inflated by over $140
million. This is naked theft!
The question is, how heartless can John
Mahama and his appointees be? How can this
cabal of looters inflate a project by over
five times what it should really cost?
The truth as we can see from the issues with
the projects raised above is that the NDC
initiates projects with the focus not on
development for the Ghanaian people but the
development of private bank accounts and
pockets of John Mahama and his cronies.
Go and check the details of some of the
owners of all the apartment blocks springing
up in the rich areas in Accra. These
so-called social democrats are supporting
the construction of flats for the very rich
and none for the ordinary workers of Ghana.
The truth is that the projects listed in the
propaganda campaign song instead of being
achievements, are rather indictments on John
Mahama and underline his legendary status as
by far the most corrupt Ghanaian leader in
our history as a nation.
Our appeal to all of us, Ghanaians, is that
beware of their tricks and lies like those
contained in the propaganda song yet to be
released. The NDC feels that the surest way
they can remain in power is to steal from us
and lie to us and not to govern honestly and
competently.
The Crusaders For Change is committed to
helping Ghanaians expose all the lies and
tricks of the NDC to ensure that come 2016
they are booted out for Ghanaians to have a
truly committed and competent government to
redeem us from the unprecedented hardships
needlessly imposed on us by Mahama.
We shall not sit by meekly and watch John
Mahama and his gang loot our nation dry and
kill the future of the young people of
Ghana.
……signed……
Hopeson Adorye 004915214954959
Sylvester Tetteh 0244368848
Baba Tauffic 0200544454
Gifty Oware 0244984307
Tina Mensah 0266275040
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