The recently launched District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) by President Akufo-Addo has sparked a political controversy, with claims from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the initiative was originally introduced by former President John Mahama in 2016.
Deputy Minority Whip and NDC MP for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim, stated in an interview on Okay FM that the DRIP project was initiated by Mahama, but its progress was hindered by administrative decisions.
“This DRIP project was something that President Mahama launched in July 2016. President Mahama’s problem was that he dissolved the Ministry of Information and combined it with the Ministry of Communication. So, there were a lot of things that he did but were not communicated,” Ibrahim said.
Responding to these claims on X, former Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Koku Anyidoho, criticized the party’s leadership for attempting to attribute the DRIP initiative to Mahama. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the narrative being pushed by some members of the NDC.
In one of his posts, Anyidoho remarked, “Desperation is NOT good ooo!!! Listen to how this JM puppet attempts to steal the DRIP Initiative for his boss but ends up indicting the policy of merging the Information & Communications Ministries. This is a BIG indictment on JM that’s why he must have a DEBATE with DMB.”
He further added, “What is happening to my NDC? This is shocking!!! They are now saying that the DRIP Initiative was started by JM. In one breath, the NPP Govt is doing nothing; in another breath, all the NPP projects are JM’s projects. Soon, they will say JM created the world. Haba!”
President Akufo-Addo officially launched the DRIP at Independence Square on July 31, 2024.
This initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, aims to address the critical issue of deteriorating road conditions across the country’s 275 constituencies, which the National Security Ministry has flagged as a major national security concern.