Karaga DCE contradicts energy ministry chief director & Valco officials on schools under trees elimination project
Less than 24 hours after the Chief Director of Ghana’s Ministry of Energy Mr Lawrence Apaalse assured journalists that, the ministry support to the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) to eliminate schools under will not be hijacked by Ghanaian politicians has been thrown into dust bin by the caretaker District chief executive for Karaga, Mr Alhassan Yabdoo.
The DCE didn’t only quashed the public servant statement but came out with revelations that the project the Volta Aluminum Trust Fund is seeking public contribution to execute was in his political party’s 2020 campaign promise.
Earlier, the chief director downplays any political interference stated that’’ the consolation is that the schools have been mapped out and that they are not going to accept new schools without serious review’’.
He further assured journalists in Tamale that if the politicians were going to influence, they would have done that before today (June 4,2021), so let’s be guided by the list that we have which contains names of schools in phase one and two.
’’So long as we stick to the list, we have, political interference I will not say it won’t be there but it will be minimized and journalists must play their watchdog role to ensure that politicians don’t hijacked it’’ he assured.
However, to the chief director dismay and journalists who raised the concerns before moving to Kambonsiya D/A KG, a beneficiary community in the Karaga district, the DCE told the people that at the sod cutting ceremony for work to begin for 3-unit classroom block that the project was a 2020 manifesto promise by the ruling New Patriotic Party.
The shocking comments by the DCE was in sharp contrast the earlier statements and assurance by the Acting Chief Executive Volta Aluminum Trust Fund, the Board chair and the chief director of the supporting ministry.
The journalists were left wondering if what the public servants told them in Tamale was from the bottom of their hearts or meant to deceive them to help course of a certain politician or political party under pretext helping deprived communities.
The first ceremony of the project turned political event with key government appointees such the Northern regional Minister Alhaji Alhassan Shani Shaibu, Deputy Energy minister and Member of Parliament for Karaga-Dr Mohammed Amin Adam and some public servants in the district who have no clue about the event but have to be there to serve their jobs or not accused of being ant-government.
Indeed, the program eventual turned into a political rally as the DCE and MP insisted that cutting of the construction of the classroom block in the community was fulfilment of a campaign promised.
Both the DCE and MP emphasized that construction of the school in the community is to thank them for the voting for NPP and its parliamentary.
The Acting VALCO CEO before the event told journalists in Tamale that what his outfit set out to do was purely public service ostensibly to psyche their minds not to anticipation of soli after the event.
With support from Ghanaians and the energy ministry, Valco Trust Fund is hoping to eliminate 5043 schools under trees and dilapidated school structures in the 16 regions of Ghana.
The lead crusader to eliminate the schools under trees is Valco Trust Fund estimated an amount of 162 million cedis. In the phase one, it is using 6.8 million cedis to construct 18 schools. the 162m according to the acting CEO will have come Ghanaians.
However, with the turn of events at the phase one in the Kambonsiya community and the skepticisms of Ghanaians about prudent management of public funds, Fund managers will have to demonstrate beyond measure that their mission is for the good of the country without any ulterior motive.
The event indeed took place on June 4,2021 under a questionable ground which looks like someone’s farm with the innocent children appeared to have been coerced to be in their usual miserable looks for cameras.
