The Ashanti Region Minister Simon Osei-Mensah has 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.
His comments come on the heels of the claims by some quarters that the government has not done enough to develop the region which happens to be the stronghold of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) when it comes to votes.
Addressing the media in Accra on Wednesday August 24, Mr Osei-Mensah said “As much as I admit that the government has not 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 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 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.”