Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu,
Saturday, October 22, 2016
The Mahama-led NDC government’s promise to build 200 community day
senior high schools (SHSs) before the end of 2016 is beginning to haunt the
ruling party as the December 7 general election hits a homestretch.
The major campaign promise is becoming more of propaganda than
reality as reports from the regions indicate non-existent of the school
projects, eroding the credibility of the government.
President John Mahama on September 5 admitted during the
commissioning of one of the newly-built schools at Abodom in the Central Region
that he could not complete all the 200 community day
schools he promised before his first term ends.
President Mahama who is feverishly campaigning for a second term
had promised in 2012 that 200 schools would be built across the country.
Realising that the 200 was too high, he later changed the figures
to 123, saying that he could complete all the 123 before the December 7 general
election but many of the projects have been stalled. While some have not been
started at all, a few had been commissioned by the president.
He said at Abodom in the Agona East District that “In my next term of office (from 2017), by the
grace of God, we will complete all the 200 new senior high schools that I
promised,” explaining, “As I said, currently, 123 are under construction, and
that means that the Central Region will receive additional secondary schools
among the remaining over 70 schools that we shall build.”
But, the reports from the regions paint a
different picture, indicating that the president might have been misinformed
about the reality on the ground.
Most of the schools have not taken off due
largely to lack of bud to support the construction.
Ablakwa
Contradictions
However, the utterances of Deputy Minister of Education Samuel
Okudzeto Ablakwa on the construction of the schools nationwide as promised by President
Mahama is giving some sections of the public calls to suspect the government
has something to hide.
He has been making contradictory statements in
the media since the debate on whether the government is capable of completing
the projects on time came up.
Green
Book
On page 15 of the NDC’s propaganda-induced Green Book, the ruling
party claimed that a $156 million Secondary Education Improvement Programme
(SEIP) being sponsored by the World Bank “has been launched and is
progressing.”
They stated that under the programme, there will be:
Financing for the construction of 23 community day SHS, improvement
in quality and facilities in 175 existing SHS, provision of scholarships to
10,400 needy students 2,300 of whom had already been awarded; and capacity
building for 6,500 people as well as mathematics, science and ICT teachers and leadership
training for secondary school heads.
Completed
Projects
As at June, the Mahama-led government had completed and commissioned
less than 20 out of the 200 community day SHSs it promised and the World Bank
was sponsoring 23 of them, with the rest being financed by the government of
Ghana.
Most of the commissioned schools were the World Bank-funded ones,
while the Ghana government ones are struggling for completion because of
unavailability of funds – the reason the president cannot fulfill his campaign
promise of 200 schools – which has been pegged at 70 by Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Cost of
Projects
Interestingly, the NDC government has not yet been able to tell
Ghanaians the actual cost of each of the completed schools, not to talk of the
entire 200.
In March 2014, when President Mahama amid NDC fanfare, cut the sod
for the construction of the first 50 schools; as part of a total of 200 new community
day senior high schools to be built across the country, he had insisted all the
50 was going to be completed before the December 7 elections.
Later at another function, Okudzeto Ablakwa confirmed that “there
are ten ready, the Ministry of Education has to set the date (for the inauguration).
We are building 123 as at now at various stages of completion. Some of them the
sites have been handed over, they’ve started the profiling, but the early ones
that we started, many of them are in advanced stages of completion.”
“So although we promised 200, we have 123 ongoing, many of them will
be ready before elections. We are not waiting to finish all before we populate
the schools and so as we are finishing the schools and we are handing over to
the Ministry of Education, we are putting the children to school,” he added.
Ablakwa List
On Septemebr 29, after months of confusion on the existence of the
number of community senior high schools actually completed, Okudzeto Ablakwa
issued a statement claiming that the 123 schools had all been awarded on
contract and were at various stages of the project completion.
Strangely, he released the list without indicating which ones had
actually been completed and those at the various stages of completion.
Media Interviews
He was captured in a national newspaper recently as saying that 42
of community day SHSs are ready to open for admissions in the current 2016/2017
academic year.
He said 10 had already been inaugurated, while two (Agric Nzema Day
SHS in the Ashanti Region and Nemonwora Day SHS in the Agona East District of
the Central Region) will be inaugurated very soon and also said that 30 were at
various stages of completion and would be done by October. We are in October
and the signs are not good as the schools may not be able to admit students
because those that have been completed have no teaching and learning materials
as well as teaching and non-teaching staff.
Ablakwa was also quoted as saying that nine out of the remaining 30
will be completed before September ends and the remaining 21 will be completed
before October ends.
Interestingly, On September 4, this same minister was on Citi FM saying he believes that about 70 of the schools will be ready to
admit fresh students in the current academic year and this even contradicted
President John Mahama’s 123 schools.
This raises questions that, in effect, only 42 schools
may be ready by the end of the year to admit students, even that there are
doubts.
Western Region
President Mahama has been able to commission only one
out of the 13 schools that the government promised the people of Western Region
so far. The commissioning was done at Bamiankor in the Nzema East Municipality
(No. 46 on Okudzeto Ablakwa’s list).
At Whindo near Asakae in the Kwesimintsim Constituency
at Sekondi Takoradi in the Western Region (No. 100 on the list), the land is
lying fallow as there is no activity over there, not even a signpost announcing
the project yet Okudzeto Ablakwa listed it as one of the schools which is at
‘various stages of completion.”
When DAILY GUIDE visited the community,
it was revealed that there was no such project going on in the area.
A former assembly member for the area indicated that the
project was actually taking place at Whindo, about 15 minutes’ drive from
Asakae.
When DAILY GUIDE got to Whindo, it was
raining heavily but the residents were eager to speak with the paper.
Some of the residents claimed that it was not true that
the project was at any stage of completion.
“In fact, we have heard that such a project is coming to
Whindo but the truth is that the assembly has now acquired the land and had not
even finished paying compensation to those whose farm produce are on it. No
project has started on it,” the residents told DAILY GUIDE.
Brong-Ahafo
Not more than three of the 16 schools promised the people of
Brong-Ahafo Region have been commissioned. At Danyame in the Dormaa Central Municipality,
the contractor had abandoned the project and left the half building to the
mercy of the weather.
The project at Krobo in Techiman Municipality is almost completed
as the building is receiving its final facelift when DAILY GUIDE visited, but
in many other areas where the projects have been sited, there is either little
work or no action at all.
Ashanti Region
Out of the 13 schools promised the Ashanti Region, four are said to have
been completed, while eight are uncompleted and but the one at Manfo in Ahafo
Ano North (No 52 on the list) has not started at all, yet Okudzeto Ablakwa is
saying it is being done.
Easter Region
In the Eastern Region, the NDC government promised 13, but not more
than one has been reportedly been commissioned.
At Abomosu in the Atiwa District (No 67 on the list), the site has
been demarcated behind the Presby School JSS but there is no action over there.
The Abomosu story is similar to that of many other projects in the region which
are in limbo.
The contractor is said to be chasing money to undertake the job.
Central Region
In the Central Region, not more than three of the 13 schools
promised have been commissioned.
Those officially commissioned by President Mahama include Abodom in Agona
West (No. 20) and Ekumfi Otuam (No. 21) respectively.
Diaso in the
Upper Denkyira West District (No. 19) is
almost completed. However, at Kobina Ansa in Mfantsiman (No. 61) for
instance, the designated land is covered by weed and there don’t seem to be any
activity.
Volta Region
In the Volta Region, the NDC government promised the people 12
schools but not more than three have been officially commissioned.
At Avenorpeme in Akatsi South (No. 41), the project is almost
completed, the one at Nkwata South (No. 43) has been commissioned but some
parts of the building, according to media reports, are defective.
The Agblekpui project in Ketu South (No. 94) is halfway done, while the
Damanko project in Nkwanta North (No. 42) is progressing, but also not
completed.
At Kwamekrom-Abornukope in the Biakoye District, the school was
inaugurated by the president, while in Abuadi & Tsrefe in the Adaklu, there
is an appreciable progress, but in Ziope in the Avetime District, the buildings
are now being raised.
Greater Accra
In the Greater Accra Region where the Mahama-led NDC government
promised to build 10 schools, not a single one has been commissioned.
For instance, at Teshie in the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Assembly
(LEKMA), Accra (No. 71), a giant billboard has been erected with the
photographs of President Mahama and the MP for the area, Benita Okiti Dua, but
there is nothing on site.
At
Ada East District, the site for the school project has been located between
Ashigbekope, Kpodokope and Kasseh (No. 73), but there is absolutely no ongoing
construction at its site at Koluedor.
The
school is nowhere to be found, as there is no site for the project in the area
because the leadership of the area are at loggerheads with each other over the
location of the school.
Information
gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicated that the former DCE wanted the school to
be built in his village in Koluedor, as the MP for Sege, Christian Corleytey
Otuteye, wanted it done at Agblabanya with the community, including the chiefs
have also made their request for the school to be built in between Goe and
Agblabanya.
The
above misunderstanding had led the area to be without a site for the project to
construct the school.
At
Ashaiman where the school is located at Community 22, the project is at roofing
level, but the administration block is yet to commence and plastering on the
building has also not started.
In Tema Metropolis at Lashibi (No. 72), there is positive progress
even though there is still more work to be done on the building, but at the
Kpone Katamanso (No. 110), the building is at the foundation stage.
Northern Region
The president promised 14 schools for Northern Region and the
government is yet to commence construction in majority of the lands reserved
for the projects.
At
Nasia (No. 78), the land remains fallow even though the people were told the
school was going to be built within eight months.
A visit by DAILY GUIDE to the area
revealed that the project has been abandoned and left unattended to, and it has
been covered by weeds.
The
assemblyman for the area, Alhassan Salifu, told DAILY GUIDE that Nasia
and its surrounding communities have had their hopes dashed by the failure of
the members of parliament (MPs) and the contractor’s inability to start the
building of the community day senior high school.
In
a phone interview with DAILY GUIDE, the contractor of the
project, Stephen Okutah, said, “Honestly, we started something on the site, we
laid the pipes and cleared the land but later the funds were not flowing. We
were later told to continue with the project if we have money and we don’t have
money.”
Upper East
Few of the 11 schools for Upper East promised by the Mahama-led
government are all at different stages of completion, but construction is yet
to take place in majority of the sites.
Construction has started on the site for Gambigo Community SHS (No.
85) located at Zuarungu in Bolgatanga East Municipality and a similar situation
at Bongo Azeem-Namoo (No. 87) in the Bongo District, but they are all yet to be
completed.
Upper West
The president promised eight schools for Upper West, but there is no
indication that any of them has been commissioned.
Majority of the projects have either been abandoned or at early
stages of construction, with some no action at all due to non-release of cash.
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