$1 Million For Every Constituency Can Only Build Toilets---Ofosu Kwakye

The government's much-trumpeted $1m per constituency has been ridiculed as a mere slogan as the building of public toilets are to be constructed under the fund, former Deputy Communications Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has claimed.

The one-million-dollar-per-constituency policy, aimed at alleviating poverty in the country is one of the major pledges the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) made in the 2016 electioneering campaign.

Almost a year into the administration of Nana Kaufo-Addo, the policy is yet to be implemented.

Presenting the government’s fiscal policy statement to the House of Parliament Wednesday, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta announced the programme, which is part of the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), is ready for take-off in all 275 constituencies.

With the passage of the law establishing the three Development Authorities (DAs)- Northern Development Authority (NDA), Middle-Belt Development Authority (MDA) and Coastal Development Authority (CDA)- by parliament, the government says it now has the green light to zoom into action.

But speaking on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM Thursday, Felix Kwakye Ofosu said some of the projects advertised as those being undertaken by IPEP for some of the constituencies are KVIP toilet facilities.

He challenged the host of the Show, Kojo Yankson to “peruse that list, and you will find out that…KVIPs [toilets] is what has been advertised.”

“If all the hoopla and noise about one million one constituency was about constructing toilets then I’m afraid that the people of Ghana have been misled…If you look at what has been advertised, I’m not sure that it is the sort of thing that people were looking out for when they went about touting one million one constituency. That promise for all intents and purposes has not materialised,” he stated.

Ato Pamford
The Parliament for Shama in the Western Region, Ato Pamford, said the team had assessed the needs of communities before the list of possible projects under the fund was advertised.

“You cannot sit in central governance and say ‘I’m going to do this thing or I’m going to do that thing’. You will have to involve the people,” Ato Pamford argued.

The deputy Chair of Parliament’s Committee on Trade and Industry said the decision also formed part of steps being taken by the government to tackle sanitation challenges facing some of the communities which also saw the country being ranked recently as one of the filthiest in the world.

“If we are a nation that wants to put the health of our people [and] sanitation ahead of us then I think it’s a very key area that we need to look“.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Jerry Tsatro Mordy | Email: [email protected], Twitter: @jerrymordy