Claim: A former Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Samuel Pyne, has claimed that since 1992, no National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has started and completed a project in the Ashanti Region.
Verdict: False. Internet search results show several projects initiated and completed under previous NDC administrations.
Full Text
A former Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Samuel Pyne, has claimed that no NDC government has started and completed a project in the Ashanti Region since 1992.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have argued over which party has outperformed the other in terms of infrastructure development in the Ashanti Region.
The two major political parties have made claims here, here, here, and here, either accusing each other of neglecting the NPP stronghold or asserting a superior infrastructure record.
During his recent Thank You Tour of the region, President John Dramani Mahama promised to complete stalled projects, including Phase II of the Kejetia Market and the Suame interchange.
In a discussion on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen program, Mr Sam Pyne, as he is popularly called, challenged the NDC’s infrastructure record in the Ashanti Region and dared the party to name a single project it started and completed since 1992.
“They didn’t complete the Kumasi Kejetia phase one project. It was Akufo-Addo’s time that we completed it. The market was commissioned in 2019 to become operational. If you had completed it, do you think NPP would have closed it for two years before making it operational?”
“When they (NDC) came to power, they said they would construct hospitals; ask them to mention one single hospital they completed in the Ashanti Region. When you’re travelling by air and you get to Asokore Mampong, the standard of skyscrapers you see there, whose handiwork is it? Under Dr Addo Kufuor, the NPP started it and came back to complete it. What has the NDC started and ever completed in the Ashanti Region? From 1992 to date, NDC has not started a project and completed it. Not a single project. I dare them to give me one single project,” Sam Pyne stated at 4:05 minutes of the video.
The claim was posted on Asempa FM’s social media platforms here and here and was also shared by social media users here, here, and here.
Due to the claim’s potential to mislead the Ghanaian public and the individual behind it, DUBAWA decided to investigate it.
Verification
To verify the claim, DUBAWA conducted thorough internet searches for projects in the Ashanti Region and their commencement, completion, and/or inauguration periods.
The search results display publications related to the inauguration of projects by the previous NDC administration.
For instance, on May 4, 2014, President Mahama inaugurated a $21.6 million Water Supply Rehabilitation and Expansion Project in Mampong, Ashanti Region. According to media reports, this project was initially established in 1961 to serve a population of approximately 20,000.
The project began in 2011 during the late President Mills’ NDC administration and was completed in 2014 under the first term of President Mahama.
In addition, in the run-up to the 2012 elections, the NDC promised to build 200 community day Senior High Schools across the country. In 2014, President Mahama broke ground for the project. The search results indicate that several E-Blocks, as they came to be known, were inaugurated at Pakoso in the Asokore-Mampong municipality, Adugyama in the Ahafo-Ano South District, and Adobewora in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region, as reported here, here, and here.
Conclusion
Based on the above, it is clear that the NDC has initiated and completed projects in the Ashanti Region. Therefore, the claim is false.