Former President John Mahama has promised that a future National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration will effectively manage the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
Speaking at a mini-rally in Sunyani, Bono Region on September 11, Mahama criticized the Akufo-Addo administration for its handling of the DRIP project.
Mahama pointed out that while road equipment was acquired, the current administration failed to employ operators and budget for fuel, leaving many machines unused.
He criticized the implementation as poorly planned and politically motivated, lacking the necessary organization and support.
If elected, Mahama vowed to adopt a more thorough approach, including recruiting and training operators, ensuring district assemblies have the budget for maintenance, and identifying priority roads for improvement.
He emphasized that the NDC would build on the DRIP concept with a well-structured and effectively managed program.
“It is a good idea but not well thought through. They hurriedly brought in the equipment for political gimmicks without doing the necessary organization, so when we come we will take the concept but we will advertise and recruit the operators, we will train them on how to maintain it and we will make sure that the district assemblies have the budget to run those equipment.
“We will identify the roads, every district will have to identify the emergency roads to be worked on and the government will budget for it so that we can give them the money to go out and work on those roads,” he stated.
The DRIP, launched by President Akufo-Addo on July 31, aims to enhance Ghana’s road infrastructure with a fleet of 2,240 pieces of equipment.
The initiative is designed to decentralize development and improve road quality across the country.
