Increased demands for projects in Ashanti is ‘Oliver Twist asking for more’ – Smart Sarpong

It cannot be the case that the Ashanti Region has not seen enough development projects over the past years, a Political Analyst, Dr Smart Sarpong has said.

In his view, claims that the region has not seen much projects under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration show that the people just want more than what is being delivered to them presently.

Some observers have indicated that the government has not done enough to develop the region which happens to be the strong hold of the NPP when it comes to votes.

But Dr Sarpong told TV3 in an interview on Wednesday August 24 that “It is the case of Oliver twist asking for more. It cannot be the case that for the past years the Ashanti region hasn’t gotten anything. Usually, when you hear the word anything, I don’t know what they mean, is it absolute Zero or is it low expectations.

“30 out of the 47 constituencies in the Ashanti region cannot cry too much, their cry should not be interpreted to mean that they should be looked at at the expense of the other regions.”

The Ashanti Region Minister Simon Osei-Mensah has also said the Akufo-Addo administration has not performed poorly in terms of infrastructural development in the region.

He mentioned the Kumasi Airport expansion and the Kejetia Central Market Phase II projects as some of the development initiatives ongoing in the region.

Addressing the media in Accra on Wednesday August 24, Mr Osei-Mensah said “As much as I admit that the government has bot been able to bridge the gap between the regional expectation of infrastructural development and actual delivery, I am of the strongest conviction that the NPP government has not performed badly in terms of provision of development facilities in the Ashanti region.

“We have the airport expansion project to be completed by the end of this year. Whatever the situation is, this project will be completed by the end of this this year. We also have the Kejetia Central Market Phase 11 project. If we can do any proper decongestion in Kumasi, it is this project that is going to solve it.”

But for the global crisis, he said, these projects would have been completed by now.

“But for the global economic crisis which has had the devastating economic effects on the country, most of these projects would have been completed. Thus bridging significantly, the gap between the actual and expected levels of development.”