
Audio By Carbonatix
The former Spokesperson on Finance under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, Kwaku Kwarteng, has described as disingenuous government’s statement that it seeks to ‘revive’ instead of ‘continue’ certain projects embarked upon by the previous administration.Mr Kwarteng citing the Aveyimeh rice project said the ruling National Democratic Congress is giving a false impression when it says the project is yet to be given new life when production has already started.“When you use statements like I will revive it, then there is an attempt to suggest that somehow the project was made to collapse and that you are going to revive it,” he argued.President Mills at his first State of the Nation Address to Parliament indicated that his administration would pump life into the rice field which lay fallow for seven years under the NPP from 2001 to 2008.But Mr Kwarteng speaking to Joy FM on Tuesday said the ruling party is putting out the wrong information.He said the NPP government had contracted a private firm, Prairie Texas Incorporated, to revamp the project.Prairie Taxas won the bid to begin production on the rice field early 2008 after it presented an evaluation report to government at the instance of Cabinet under the former administration.Responding to the issues however, Deputy Chief of Staff Alex Segbefia said Mr Kwarteng had only been “playing with semantics.”“What we have done is that we’ve looked at the situation as it existed, and projects that exist, we haven’t just gone and terminate it.”“We are looking to make sure that where Ghana’s money has already been spent in moving certain projects forward we are trying to make sure that we continue with those but make sure that we streamline it and do it in a way that will be beneficial to the country,” he stressed.Although the battle of facts continued on Joy FM’s evening news programme News Night, both Messrs Kwarteng and Segbefia dropped hint it was laudable President Mills’ decision to continue with certain projects that were initiated by the Kufuor administration.What perhaps appear the most outstanding in the previous government’s policies have been the School Feeding Programme, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Capitation Grant.The President at his sessional address pledged not to quash the initiatives as had been perceived by the public.Although both the ruling and previous governments agree the project has to be continued, members of the opposition NPP believe it has already had a good amount of ‘revival.’Story by Fiifi Koomson
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
NCPTA backs ban on extravagant school graduations, calls for return to discipline, character building
20 minutes -
Ghana ranked 1st in Africa with highest policy rate; cost of credit most expensive
25 minutes -
Central Regional NADMO gives residents in dilapidated buildings 14 days to evacuate
50 minutes -
Bibiani NPP members call for regional chairman’s resignation over disqualification of aspirants
1 hour -
Cloudy conditions, intermittent rains to persist nationwide – GMet
1 hour -
Zenith SME Business Empowerment Lab urges SMEs to adapt, innovate and thrive in a changing economy
2 hours -
T-bills: Government record 20% undersubscription; interest rates continue to rise
2 hours -
Ghanaian medicinal plant shows potential to starve prostate tumours by blocking blood vessel growth
2 hours -
Emirates expands operations in Ghana with additional weekly flights
3 hours -
Tributes paid to ‘popular’ teenager killed in Donegal rally crash
3 hours -
Marigold Foundation distributes sanitary pads to 1,500 girls in Agona East
3 hours -
Two dead after building collapse at Gyagyaano in Cape Coast
3 hours -
Six arrested over Kwabenya shooting incident involving Adwoa Safo
3 hours -
Nana Kwadwo Safo Akofena I installed as new leader of Kristo Asafo Mission
4 hours -
Kristo Asafo Church refutes claims Adwoa Safo was shot by brother
4 hours