The Member of Parliament for Bunkpurugu, Dr. Abed Bandim, has exposed the double-standard-ness of the current government over its provision of additional sites under the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project for voice and data services in the years 2022 and 2023.
His comments are on the back of the presentation of the 2024 Budget Statement and Economic Policy by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.
In a post on his Facebook page, following the budget reading, the MP, who is also a member on the Communications Committee of Parliament, brought back what the government said it was doing in that regard in the past two years, indicating that it will be scrutinized during the budget review meeting.
He stressed that, by his post, for instance, the government would be properly guided.
Read his full post below:
By Hon. Dr. Abed Bandim, MP for Bunkpurugu
From the Mud House in Bunkpurugu/Nakpanduri, 16 November, 2023
Greetings My People,
Reading from the 2022 national budget at paragraph 889, we read that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration “will provide 1,400 additional sites under the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project for voice and data services.”
Now let’s see what they themselves reported in the 2023 budget.
“715. Mr. Speaker, Government, through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), constructed 1,003 rural telephony sites under the Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project. This has benefitted 1,353 rural communities that can now make calls and use the internet via their mobile phones, thereby opening huge possibilities for social and economic activities.
716. In 2023, Government will provide additional 700 sites under the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project for voice and data services to ensure reliable, affordable, and secured broadband infrastructure to 4,000 rural communities. The Ministry will also extend aerial fibre coverage by 1,300km as backhaul to rural communities to improve quality of service and customer experience.”
Let’s be generous, My People: by baiting them, we’re giving them all the “apoh” so that they may amend whatever they want to amend before the budget debate.
We shall surely tell the truth about them as the facts unfold.
These are the facts, what is your own?!
Source: ghanaweb.com
