Veteran journalist, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, has pointed out that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia peddled alternative facts when he marked his government’s infrastructural achievements in its first term as incomparable to that of any other government preceding it.
In a reaction to Dr. Bawumia’s claim that the Akufo-Addo government is building three interchanges that cost less than one interchange built by former President John Mahama, the veteran journalist said the evidence on the ground proves otherwise.
According to him, the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange did not cost US$270 million as Bawumia had claimed but cost 74, 880, 000 Euros.
“That is the value, at least the loan agreement that Parliament approved and that is what it is. I have realized some people say the figure is about Nkrumah interchange Part 2. But per my checks, I suspect those people are referring to the flyover, the Obetsebi-Lamptey interchange. That’s about 130 or 135 million dollars; so are they combining the two because I’ve read records that some people refer to the Kwame Nkrumah interchange, the one they call Dubai, as phase 1 and the Obetsebi-Lamptey thing as phase 2,” Kweko Baako quizzed.
According to the Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide, the Obetsebi Lamptey flyover is what is captured in Parliamentary records as phase two of the Nkrumah interchange.
Dr. Bawumia on Tuesday caused consternation when he claimed at a ”Town Hall and Results Fair” that the Akufo-Addo government has built more infrastructure than any other government preceding it.
According to him, the NPP’s record in infrastructure is, “second to none with verifiable data to back up my claim”.
“The investment in infrastructure by the NPP government over the last three years has been massive. I dare say our investment in infrastructure, our infrastructure record, is second to none for any government in its first term under the Fourth Republic,” the Vice President boasted.
Vice President Mahmudu Bawumia has built quite a reputation with what have been described as half-truths and outright lies. Following the Town Hall meeting, many people have begun investigating the veracity of his claims and already it is emerging that some of his claims are not factual.