The Office virtually came under fire for circulating an exaggerated representation of what transpired during the Vice President’s visit to United States where the financial deals were allegedly struck.
In his intervention on Joy FM, the outgoing World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Ishac Diwan literally sneered at the story, saying that there is no such financial commitment as reported, pointing out that the true picture is about the overall transport sector in the country.
The country yesterday woke up to a story about four major stalled road projects receiving a new lease of life through a $400 million facility secured through the intervention of Vice President John Dramani Mahama, specifically for the completion of the Legon-Adenta, Achimota-Ofankor, Nsawam bypass-Apedwa and Kumasi Sofoline projects.
By the time the story went round the country, it was shot down because the quoted details fell short of the truth, leaving handlers of the Office of the Vice President scratching their heads for a solution to the integrity challenge that had cropped up.
While many were blunt in describing the story as an untruth and a piece of propaganda associated with the governing NDC party, others were a bit diplomatic, regarding it as a slip from an overzealous spokesperson of the Vice President.
In a swiftly-crafted press release to correct the untruth after a media uproar, John Abdulai Jinapor, Spokesperson to the Vice President, apologized for what he described as a mix-up in figures.
But the politically-minded Ghanaian saw it otherwise, preferring to regard it as a propaganda piece gone haywire.
The apology was concealed in the release headed ‘USAID & World Bank Pledged $100m For Agric’ and dated Monday, June 20, 2011.
The Vice President’s office, in the release, pointed out that the World Bank has agreed to government’s plan to prioritise its infrastructural projects, adding that a team would arrive in the country to discuss financial option regarding the works.
This disclosure, as contained in the press release, fell short of what was carried in the Daily Graphic of yesterday whose import was that the Bretton Wood institution had agreed to release the funding to the quoted amount as though all was cut and dry.
The Vice President of the Africa Region of the World Bank, Oby Ezekwesili, the Office of the Vice President noted, had expressed the willingness of the financial institution to work with the government to raise the required amount of between $250 million and $350 million to complete the projects.
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Vice President John Mahama
On the Savannah Accelerated Development Agency (SADA), which was also mentioned as part of the recipients of the World Bank largesse, the Veep’s office explained that both the bank and the USAID had confirmed a total of $100 million in commitments to finance agricultural expansion during a meeting with Vice President John Mahama, $40 million of which would go to the Accra Plains Irrigation Project.
DAILY GUIDE learnt that the board chairman of SADA suddenly got jittery, wondering where the $340million quoted in the Daily Graphic report was coming from because he was not aware of it.
The board chairman, who is the chief executive of a flourishing bank, was very mindful, owing to the crisis that has greeted SADA over its funding, with northern youth groups on their throats.
Roads and Highways Minister Joe Gidisu, excited over the reported $400 million, told Joy FM yesterday that with the credit line assured, government has given itself up to the end of the year for the completion of the outstanding road projects which remains an albatross around the neck of the government.
He was speaking from China where he is currently engaged in an arrangement to secure additional funding for the road sector.
Speaking about the projects, he said, ‘We will be able to revise the deadlines with them.
With a little push in terms of payment, the contractors will be able to complete the roads which are in different stages of completion’. Â Â Continued…Â Â Â
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