DON’T RENEW MANDATE OF NORTHERN LEGISLATURES IN 2012 ELECTIONS –NORPRA

The Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA), has called Northerners not to renew the mandate of current legislatures from Northern Ghana in the 2012 general elections. According to the pressure group, both NPP and NDC legislatures in parliament have over the years failed to champion the cause of Northern Ghana and articulate the concerns of their constituents. Adding, “They have woefully failed in their core mandate to check government’s diversion, conversion and misappropriation of public funds meant for the development of Northern Ghana. In a press statement issued to Fiila News and sign by the President. Ayorogo Adongo Bismark, recalled that Parliament in 2008 approved a loan of US$500 million from the government of Brazil for the construction of two projects including the Pwalugu Hydroelectric Power Project in the Upper East Region and another one in Juale in the Northern Region. However, the Pwalugu Hydroelectric Power Project was deleted from the government’s major policy statement for 2010 titled the Budget Statement and Economic Policies. NORPRA quoted the page 6 of government’s Top 50 Achievements published this year, saying “the government under the full watch and supervision of President John Evans Mills and his Vice John Mahama diverted and converted US$250 million being half of the loan from the Brazilian Government for construction of a different project at the Eastern Corridor”. The signals from this development, it said point to the fact that the two hydro-electric power projects to be executed in Northern Ghana have been abandoned, stressing that by this action, government and parliament owe the people of Ghana an explanation on when the Eastern Corridor’s Road Project was approved in parliament. NORPRA’s statement further indicated that, it is common knowledge that the 4-year social contract between the NDC and Northerners in the 2008 elections was to immediately set up the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) with initial seed capital of GH¢200 million and annual contribution of GH¢100 million for 20 years. However, the statement observed that not even a quarter of the contract has been executed and not even a single bold and objective-minded Member of Parliament from the North has made any strong case for government to deliver its part of the contract. The statement further observed that the approved loan of US$3 billion from China meant to finance a number of major development projects in the country did not mention of a single project taking place in Northern Ghana, yet no Northern MP on the floor of parliament thought it wise drawing government’s attention to it. “Indeed it was sad to see most Northern MPs very excited in the massive voice vote for the loan without pausing to think of whether or not their Constituents will benefit from the facility which is to be paid back by all Ghanaians in the foreseeable future” it pointed out. Undisputedly, the apparent failure of the Northern MPs to push for the US$3 billion loan facility to include projects in the North, their silence on inadequate budgetary allocation to SADA multiplied by their failure to stop government from diverting and converting funds meant for the two energy projects in the North, the statement noted, were clear manifestations of the fact that they were in parliament for a different agenda rather than championing the development of Northern Ghana and the interest of their constituents. The statement pointed out that, the failure of the President to responsibly consider allocating a reasonable sum of money from this huge loan facility to finance SADA projects was not only an imitation of his predecessor’s life in the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) experience, but clearly deepens the feelings of most Ghanaians that the SADA programme and for that matter Northern Ghana’s development was simply more of a joke than a priority of the Mills/Mahama led administration. The statement concluded by reassuring all members of parliament from Northern Ghana of NORPRA’s great commitment to ensure that they (MPs) suffer the penalty for not doing enough in the struggle for an accelerated development of Northern Ghana.