Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, has raised concerns about the potential misuse of resources allocated under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) project.
According to Kennedy Agyapong, the initiative which is designed to empower Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) with the necessary resources and equipment to rehabilitate and maintain roads, may not yield the desired results if there is no change in the mindset of the officials involved.
Speaking in an interview on Oman FM on August 1, 2024, he stated that the level of dishonesty in the country is alarming.
“Let me commend President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Vice President, and the NPP, but my worry is, now that the machines have been given to the assembly, what measures are they also taking to keep them?
“The level of dishonesty in this country is such that they will use this to do politics even though it has been given to them to benefit Ghanaians.
“The good intentions that President Akufo-Addo had for this project, whether Mahama wins or Bawumia, if the assembly workers, members, DCEs, MCEs, presiding members, and members of the assembly don't have a change of mind and continue with this dirty mindset, the money involved in all this will be wasted.
He added that the DRIP projects, which have provided the MMDAs with over 2,240 road construction equipment to maintain their roads, will be used by some for their personal gains.
He asserted that most of these MMDAs don't have good intentions and, as dishonest as they are, will use the project for political purposes as well.
“Some members and those who will use it to work will also do so for their own benefit alone. They do not have any love for the country.
“I saw the machines at Independence Square, which was nice, but for them to take proper care of it is my big question. I want to ask, for the assembly, of all these machines, how are they going to get the money and buy fuel to construct the roads?
“What vision do DCEs, MCEs, and the assembly have to fuel those machines and use them to work? Most of the assemblies are not creative.,” he added.
Credit: ghanaweb.com