On Friday 5th June, 2020, President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo commissioned the first phase of the Tema Interchange project. Comprising a two-tier intersection, a tunnel in the East-West direction, four (4) kilometers of improved roads, four (4) pedestrian bridges, one at each approach of the intersection and the presence of several drainage structures.
The Greater Accra regional Executives of the National Democratic Congress held a press conference on 4th June, 2020 and asked the President to acknowledge the efforts made by former President John Mahama for iniatiating the Tema Interchange project.
They further said that, H.E John Dramani Mahama in his last State of the Nation’s Address on 5th January, 2017 at the Parliament House Accra, to end the 6th Parliament in the fourth republic, the former President listed some projects his Government had secured funding for ahead of his exit from office on 7th January, 2017.
The NDC Greater Accra executives said, the Tema Interchange project was part of the listed projects H.E John Mahama stated in his last address and therefore, he needs to be invited to the occasion and credited with the project.
But, H.E Nana Akuffo Addo in his address during the commissioning of the Phase one of the Tema Interchange project jabbed the NDC and H.E John Mahama instead of Crediting them. He was quoted as saying;
” We made a pledge to the Ghanaian People to expand and improve the road network, while closing the missing links in the network. We had to make this pledge because we knew that the so-called “unprecedented infrastructure development” of the Mahama administration was a fantasy, existing only in the ‘Green Book’, but not on the ground”.
H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Addo said, the funds for the project was secured in March 2017 as Grant aid from the Japanese Government. The negotiation was made and signed in March 2017. Construction commenced in February 2018 and completed in June 2020 with an amount of $56million.
The President further said that, the provision of quality roads improves socio- economic development and thus the Government will ensure the spread of these projects to other areas of the county.
Source: Joynews