Abandoned Projects

The statement made by the President in his 8^th address to Ghanaians with regard to the intentions of his government to build 88 or 94 hospitals, in the Districts and Regions without such facilities has caused a wild spirited discussion on radio, television and social media. Those arguing about the inability of the President to achieve such an envious feat in the development of projects are right in their genuine assertions. But this issue presents some “latent hypocrisy” in us as Ghanaians and a great dereliction of duty on the part of the National Development Planning Commission.

In the Directive Principle of State Policy, as given by Article 35(7) which states that “as far as practicable, a government shall continue and execute projects and programmes by the previous government”. Various governments have failed to adhere to the dictates of the constitution. From the government of Nkrumah to the current, there are culprits in this regard. The various governments have failed to continue the programmes and projects began in the past by their predecessors. Instead of the wild arguments about the achievability of the intentions of the government, the citizens should begin testing the law. Article 41 (f) of the Constitution enjoins every citizen to “to protect and preserve public property and expose and combat misuse and waste of public funds and property. As said by the President in one of his previous speeches, the Ghanaian needs to be a citizen rather than a spectator. There are learned people in our country who can take every President on, by testing the Law through the courts. Concerned citizens should initiate steps to formally demand from Political Parties and their governments, continuity of projects and programmes begun by their predecessors.

There is a dereliction of duty on the part of the National Development Planning Commission in my firmed opinion. The constitution charges the National Development Planning Commission to among others in Article 87 clause 2(f) “monitor, evaluate and co-ordinate development policies, programmes and Projects”. The Commission is equally given the mandate to perform some functions related to development planning. The Commission’s mandatory functions are key in the Sustainable Development Planning of the Country. The continuous abandoning of projects and programmes in Ghana indicates the negligence of responsibility on the part of the Commission. There have been several reports by the media on projects that have been abandoned. A TV3 documentary and news item outlined several projects that have been abandoned. Projects ranging from Schools, Markets, Road Construction, Hospitals, Clinics and many more. The various governments have abandoned schools, hospitals, bridges etc in the past. The Commission has not undertaken any serious investigative works to give a proper advice on the measures to be taken to put a stop to this happening.

The constitution of the Board of the Commission may be the reason for its dereliction of duty. It is a Board that is politically constituted and the President is responsible for the appointments to serve on the Board. The nature of our politics may have an impact on the performance of the Commission and its members. It is likely the members of the Board of the Commission will advise the President, for Political expediency, to initiate and undertake its own projects. Therefore, in solving the issue of abandoned projects, there is the need to evaluate how the Board of the National Development Planning Commission is constituted and the functions it must perform for the development of the Country. Its mandate may need to be strengthened or restructured to focus on key areas that have impact on the development of the Country.

There is also a negligence of duty on the part of the agencies that evaluate the performance of other state agencies. The National Development Planning Commission has not be given the right supervision and monitoring. Its activities have not been evaluated for many years. Parliament may need to form committees to undertake a forensic audit of the activities of the National Development Planning Commission. Otherwise, there is the likelihood that the state will continue to experience this unendingly.

It is very doleful to discover the waste of State funds on projects that have been abandoned. The need to make it an engrained duty on governments to continue projects and programmes commenced by a predecessor is non-negotiable. Parliament must make laws that will coerce all governments to complete projects and programmes started by earlier governments. Development that is based on continuity is preferred and there is no better way to ensure that than this proposed idea.

It will also be helpful for citizens to begin to use the law courts to put the various governments on the right footing. In the coming weeks, months and years, the Ghanaian people should use the law courts to demand continuity of projects and programmes. The various Assemblies have abandoned projects and the Citizens in those localities should take the inventiveness to demand the continuous development of these abandoned projects through the courts.

The continuous “self-pitying” arguments begun on radio, television and social media will not produce the needed desires of the Citizens. It is an endeavor that will soon wash away at the happening of a new event which will ensure the problem lingers endlessly. There is a need for legal redress.

The successful use of the Law Courts of our Land to seek the solutions to tackle the core of this problem will ensure expansion of infrastructural facilities. The deficit in the infrastructural facilities of our country will be halved or reduced to acceptable levels if governments are constrained to continue the development of Projects and programmes that are in progress or abandoned entirely. The state has shown to be extremely wasteful and inefficient in allocating its limited financial resources that are often obtained by means of borrowing. The hope in political parties and their governments is suppressed already. The law can be a “magnanimous messiah” in the competition to save this nation from the labyrinth.

Emmanuel Kwabena Wucharey
Economics Tutor- Kintampo SHS