Volta Regional Chairman of the NDC, Henry Kwadzo Ametepe
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta region has debunked claims by some leading members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) that relief items donated by former President John Mahama on Saturday, 13th November 2021 to tidal waves victims in the Volta Region were given to only members of NDC.
Speaking at a press briefing in Ho on Monday, 15th November 2021 the Volta Regional Chairman of the NDC, Henry Kwadzo Ametepe said the claim by the NPP is an attempt to belittle the support from President John Mahama.
He called on the public to disregard the claims by the NPP which he described as wishful thinking.
He said, “Anybody who knows who John Mahama is, would appreciate the fact that the gesture was a heartfelt one from him. As for the items he brought, we cannot go about misleading the public with all of these misquoted figures the NPP is going about with. I don’t want us to go on that tangent but I want to state clearly that the items brought by Mr. John Mahama were not meant for the NDC people but for the affected persons. That move by the NPP is just an attempt to belittle the support he [John Mahama] has given to the people.”
“These are people who are in distress and to go on that tangent would rather anger the people. Sometimes, some people can refuse the food item just because it is laced with political propaganda; it is not good. When there is a disaster, you must separate politics from the needs of the people because when you’re doing your needs assessment, it is people who are directly affected so what they are saying is not true,” he added.
According to Mr Ametepe, the NDC has in its previous administrations been at the forefront of protecting the coastal communities against the destruction of the sea.
He noted that despite the work done on the Keta Sea Defense project by successive governments, the Nana Akufo-Addo led government has failed in continuing with the Phase II of the project.
He stated that, “We saw this happening several years ago, when the late Jerry John Rawlings decided to seek support to reconstruct the Sea Defense project in Keta. People will go back into history to recognize the fact that he sourced a World Bank loan to start the project. He got the money and got the design done before we left office. Then-President Kufour came in to continue with the project.”
“In 2011, President Evans Atta Mills (late) had to source about $50 million dollar funding to begin the coastal belt project through Anloga-Whuti down to the South. We left office by getting the major aspect of the work done but when John Mahama got support to complete the airport work [Ho Airport], he decided to use part of the funding to do the Blekusu area. But since we left office, Nana Akufo-Addo and his government has failed to continue the Phase II of the project and so, the NPP must not attempt to politicize the happenings in the South,” he stressed.
The NDC chairman further stated that the donations by former President John Mahama to the victims in Keta, Ketu South and Anlo has rather awakened sleeping duty bearers.
He went on to question why President Akufo-Addo would choose to embark on a holiday in Canada at a time when over 4000 Ghanaians are hit with the disaster.
Between March to November 2021, communities such as Salakope-Amutinu, Adina, Agavedzi, Dzita and Fuveme along the Keta Lagoon have suffered seven major tidal wave incidents leaving over 4000 people displaced.