Oppong Nkrumah to Ablakwa: Provide factual evidence on “needless allegation” on DRIP equipment

The Minister of Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has accused the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa of unnecessarily politicising the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP).

Ablakwa is accusing the government of inflating the cost of equipment procured for the DRIP by over US$102 million.

The North Tongu MP said this has left the Ghanaian taxpayers to bear an unnecessary burden of US$178.7 million instead of US$76.6 million

In an interview with Bonohene Baffour Awuah on Asaasepa 107.3 on Wednesday (25 September), Oppong Nkrumah challenged Ablakwa to provide evidence to substantiate his allegation.

”What did Ablakwa say about the actual price [of the DRIP equipment]? This type of politics we’ve seen over and over again. He has to tell us and provide evidence that the price of the DRIP equipment has been inflated. He hasn’t done that, they’ve seen a trick that in this country what many appreciate are allegations.”

”So, they [NDC] may not have anything beneficial to say, all that they need to do is throw allegations out there and insist that the government come to prove otherwise. They are not offering any ideas on how to transform lives.”

The campaign that they [NDC] are doing, apart from allegations, what has been the purpose of their campaign? You are talking about a 24-hour economy… how does it affect the cost of living? The price of the DRIP equipment has been ballooned? What is the actual cost and what is the inflated figure.”

Listen to Kojo Oppong Nkrumah in the attached video clip below: He spoke in Twi

About DRIP

The DRIP initiative which was rolled out in July this year is aimed at strengthening decentralisation and empowering local authorities.

The DRIP, as previously described, is designed to empower metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) with the resources and equipment to rehabilitate and maintain roads in their areas, without repeated recourse to central departments.

The initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to decentralisation, providing local authorities with the tools to effect meaningful change.

The job creation potential of DRIP is projected to be 10,000 jobs for mechanics, engineers and artisans

Government is hoping to improve the road network, with over 12,800 km of roads completed since since 2017 under the initiative.

To support the programme, 2,240 units of earth-moving equipment, including water tankers and bulldozers, wheel loaders, skid steer loaders, motor graders, excavators, long reach, rollers, truck mounted and concrete equipment, have been deployed.

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