MAHAMA’S REGIME WAS SODOM AND GOMORRAH FOR US – SEFWI AKONTOMBRA NPP

PRESS STATEMENT
BY:
SEFWI AKONTOMBRA NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY

JULY 17, 2019

YOUR REGIME WAS SODOM AND GOMORRAH FOR US – MR. MAHAMA

Good Morning Friends of the Media, Our hardworking cocoa farmers and the good people of Sefwi Akontombra. We welcome you to our maiden press conference to address the unfortunate palpable lies peddled by the Former President of Ghana, H. E John Dramani Mahama, during his visit to our district on Tuesday, 16th July, 2019.

Fellow Constituents, we recommend his efforts to interact with you, most especially, the cocoa farmers and chiefs in our district.
However, we were astonished to see the former president visiting us by road. At least this will let him feel portion of our feelings in terms of bad roads. We hope that, he has now realized how his appointees deceived him on road accessibility problems in our Region. Yes, it is true that, time changes.

UNQUALIFIED APOLOGY

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you can recall, the Former President and his cohorts lamented during 2016 electioneering season that, H. E Addo Dunkwa Akufo Addo, then the Presidential candidate was sleeping when touring Western North Region and that triggered his inability to see the good roads constructed during his era in our district and the Western North Region at large.

Mr. Former President, please kindly show us the location of the good roads you claim you constructed in our district, Sefwi Akontombra, in particularly and Western North Region in general?
We are calling him to render unqualified apology to the chiefs and people of Western North and by extension the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dunkwa Akufo Addo, for insulting their intelligence when they had a genuine concern on travelling on bad roads.

It is worth to note that, when you lie about your pregnancy, the Ninth month will expose you!
You have been exposed, Mr. TONA (TALK ONLY NO ACTION).

THE REALITY

Fellow Constituents, the cocoa sector, under the regime of the Former President, John Mahama, became Sodom and Gomorrah for the farmers in the country. The historical problems faced by the farmers became rather protracted.
The Former President used this sector as a medium to siphon revenue from these poor farmers. He milked farmers in the cocoa growing areas through high taxes on farming inputs, inflated contract quotations (cocoa roads), awarding of non-existing cocoa road contracts, diverting of  cocoa  bonuses worth over $100 million and shortchanging farmers on cocoa prices.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we wish to put it on record that, the Former President has a penchant for destroying every good thing he inherited from his predecessors including that of his own Boss, the late Professor Evans Atta Mills.

Friends of the Media, It is worth to note that, Former President Mahama inherited one (1) million metric tonnes of annual cocoa production when he took over from his boss, the late President, H.E John Evans Atta Mills but left the country with 850,000 metric tonnes of production. The country’s cocoa production lost its capacity by a whopping 250,000 metric tonnes in his four years in power, due to poor management and negligence, to the farmers.

MISCHEVIOUS CLAIMS BY FORMER PRESIDENT, MAHAMA

Constituents, we wish to deal with some of the calculated attempts engineered by the Former President, H.E John Dramani Mahama, to swindle the farmers in our District and Western North at large.
During his visit and interactions with the people, he alleged that:

1. His regime increased the price of cocoa yearly but H.E Nana Addo Dunkwa Akufo Addos government has failed to do same, bringing hardship to the farmers.

2. This government has suspended all cocoa roads initiated by his government making road accessibility a headache for the people of the Western North.

Friends from the Media, Farmers and Colleagues, one could ask, was the Ex-President in charge of affairs of this country when he was the President? Or is it one of the strategies of someone who is desperate for power at all cost?
We were shocked to hear the Ex- president saying he yearly increased the prices of cocoa during his regime.

Mister Former President, were you not the president of this nation when your government, through COCOBOD, cheated the farmers by maintaining price per bag of cocoa for the 2013/2014 cocoa season despite the favorable market conditions for the farmers such as unprecedented depreciation of the Cedi and commendable FOB prices?

Brothers and Sisters, all indicators in determining price of cocoa in this country were favorable to the farmers during the era of the NDC of which Former President Mahama was presiding as the Chairman of the Economic Management Team and later became the Commander-in- Chief of this Country.

The FOB price of cocoa reached historic level of $3000 in 2011/2012 cocoa season with mammoth rate of cedis depreciation but your regime failed to transform the living standard of the poor farmers. His regime benefitted from sound FOB prices despite slight droppings in the late period of his term.

H.E. NANA ADDO DUNKWA AKUFO ADDOS POLICIES

Today, the FOB of cocoa has declined drastically from the $3000 to little above $2000 dollars but this government through COCOBOD has transformed the lives of the farmers through the unprecedented Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP).

Fellow Farmers, friends of the Media, among the prodigious policies and programs introduced by this administration through COCOBOD are:

1. Introduction of Artificial Hand pollination: this is to increase production per acre and at the same time creating jobs for thousands of youths in the country. As we speak now, 414 people are employed in our constituency, Sefwi Akontombra to embark on such productive program.
   It is worth to note that, all pollinated farms are supplied with fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides free of charge.

2. Introduction of Motorized Slashers: This aims at moving the farming activities from man-power to Mechanized Cocoa Farming to increase productivity.

3. Unprecedented Cocoa Rehabilitation: Initial treatment of cocoa farms (Cutting down of diseased cocoa trees), Replanting of treated farms with cocoa and plantain.

4. Introduction of Irrigation Technology: Drilling of solar powered boreholes to irrigate cocoa farms in cocoa growing areas.

5. Massive Pruning of cocoa farms: please kindly note, all farms that are pruned are supplied with liquid fertilizer free of charge.

We are using this medium to challenge Former President John Dramani Mahama and his cohorts to mention only one Productivity Enhancement Program introduced in his regime in this sector aside the free fertilizer distribution program that was used to enrich his family and friends.

Fellow Farmers, the Value is still the same. He is the same incompetent John Mahama we know from 2009 2016. Nothing has change.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in bullet 2 above, the former president alleged that this government have suspended all the cocoa roads he initiated during his regime.
We wonder why a Statesman could make such unguarded statement knowing very well that construction works have commenced on most of the suspended roads after the audit exercise carried by this government.

Fellow Farmers, COCOBOD under the Former President John Dramani Mahama in 2015/2016 cocoa season spent a whopping $150 million on cocoa roads of which most of them are yet to be located.
They used Sole Sourcing procedures to award contracts for the construction and maintenance of roads in cocoa producing areas with highly inflated contract quotations of which Bopa Junction Edewuakrom Cocoa Road in Akontombra District is no exception.

Critical Example is the 15 kilometers of road, awarded as part of GOG Projects with contract quotation of GHC18 billion but was transferred to cocoa roads with same kilometers but with inflated quotation of GHC137 Billion.
Could you imagine? THIS IS PURE DAY LIGHT Robbing.

For your Attention Mister Former President, this government though COCOBOD has transformed the lives of we the farmers through good policies and incentives.

The Former President should give us a break on his cheap propaganda geared to score cheap political goal.

Thank you all for attending.

Sign

ADDO HARRY, aka OGYABA
CONSTITUENCY SECRETARY
SEFWI AKONTOMBRA – NPP
TEL: 0242 814 121 / 0200 295 462