Kwaku Sintim-Misa, popularly known as KSM, a Ghanaian satirist and political commentator, has slammed media personality Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah over his claims that the proposed Accra-Kumasi Expressway is a deliberate attempt by the Mahama government to destroy the importance of the Ashanti Region.
The Ghanaian media personality shockingly claimed that the Accra-Kumasi Expressway could change the Ashanti Region’s economic fortunes.
Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah argued that the Ashanti Region’s position as a major economic hub, serving communities in the middle belt and northern parts of Ghana, could be affected by the new road.
Afrifa-Mensah argued that trading has traditionally been a major source of livelihood for people in the region, largely because of its strategic location, adding that the expressway could affect the economic fortunes of the region, questioning the true intentions of the project.
Okatakyie questioned the intentions behind the proposed expressway, arguing that the project could weaken Kumasi’s position as a major economic centre which serve communities in Ghana’s middle belt and northern regions.
Speaking in a viral video, Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah stated, “The government wants to strategically destroy the Ashanti Region because it has become an economic hub.
The Accra-Kumasi highway connects the national administrative and commercial capital, Accra, with the cultural and trading hub of the middle belt and the northern gateway.
The primary job of the Ashanti people is trading, but that is going to change with the construction of the expressway,” he claimed.
However, KSM on his show strongly rejected the argument, questioning how anyone could conclude that the expressway was being constructed specifically to diminish the Ashanti Region’s economic influence.
According to KSM, Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah’s position is just “jandam”, accusing him of trying to create disappointment among residents of the Ashanti Region over a road project that is expected to improve travel between Accra and Kumasi.
KSM argued that Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah’s argument appears to be politically motivated, with the aim of making residents of the region dissatisfied with the project in the hope of winning back support for the NPP in areas it lost during the last elections.
He stated, “How can the expressway be designed for just one reason: that we want to frustrate and diminish the importance of Kumasi? How? This is all part of the jandam. The key focus of the jandam is to get as many people in Kumasi and the Ashanti Region as possible to be disappointed so that all the strongholds that the NPP lost in the Ashanti Region will come back”.
KSM further debunked the suggestion that the proposed expressway was intended to destroy the Ashanti Kingdom.
He insisted that the argument was unreasonable and could not be accepted by any right-thinking Ghanaian.
“So now, the level of ‘jandam’ is focused on the destruction of the Ashanti Kingdom. Please, it doesn’t make sense. Everybody who is right-thinking in Ghana knows that thing does not make sense,” KSM added.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has announced that $2 billion has been set aside to finance the construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
Mahama assured Ghanaians that funding will not be a challenge once work begins.
According to John Mahama, the money, which is taxpayers’ funds, has been placed in a special account at the Bank of Ghana to ensure prompt payment to the contractor throughout the project.
President Mahama also disclosed that all certificates presented by the contractor will be paid promptly to prevent construction delays.
Mahama also directed the Minister for Roads and Highways to incorporate the Ghana Armed Forces Engineers Regiment as a major subcontractor to the main contractor for the expressway.
Speaking at the handover ceremony of a 175.6-kilometre right-of-way cleared by the Ghana Armed Forces on Monday, September 14, “And let me also announce that this is our own money. We have not gone to borrow money from anywhere. This money is the taxpayers’ money”.
Watch the video below:
