Stop begging for Sinohydro funds – Jinapor to Bawumia

Ranking Member on Parliament’s Mines and Energy Committee, John Jinapor, has ruled out the possibility of the Chinese government releasing funds anytime soon under the Sinohydro project.

He said the Ghanaian government has not been able to mine the bauxite meant to give effect to the barter arrangement.

“The Chinese will not release the funds because of your [Dr Bawumia’s] begging; they’d only release it when you put in place the necessary financial measures, which would guarantee that when the monies are released, Ghana would pay that money,” he said.

Speaking to the newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador, Lu Kun, at the sod-cutting for the construction of a 100km inner-city road at Kumasi, Dr Bawumia called on the Chinese government to assist with government’s project to dualise the Adentan-Dodowa road in Accra.

“You know that there is one project about which I have been calling you [the Chinese Ambassador] virtually every day. That is in Greater Accra because the people of Greater Accra have been disturbing me about it, which is the Adentan-Dodowa dualisation.”

“I am hoping that with your help, we will get that project started for the people between Adentan and Dodowa,” he said.

But the Yapei Kusawgu MP claims government has not lived up to its part of the bargain to warrant the release of the funds.

“My checks today indicate that not even up to 15% of that facility has been released. So, we’d have to get our own Vice President to literally beg the Chinese Ambassador that they should release the funds.

“Don’t forget; when you sign this agreement, there’s what we call a commitment fee. The truth is that we haven’t met their specifications and requirements; until we meet their requirements, they won’t release the money,” he added.

The Adentan-Dodowa road is one of 10 lots approved under the Chinese-sponsored arrangement, the $2 Sinohydro billion deal, which was scheduled to begin in 2019.

Three years down the line, the road remains undone, in a complete state of disrepair, with traffic congestion worsening by the day.

In a report by JoyNews’ Evans Mensah last year, emotional road users narrated their harrowing experience of having to sit in traffic for hours commuting to work, school or the market.

In 2021 government justified the non-completion of some infrastructure projects under the Sinohydro deal with China.

According to government, the phased plan along which the projects are supposed to commence is the reason for the seeming slowdown in activity as far as the project is concerned.

The Office of the Vice President says so far, “they have done over $100 million worth of work from 2019.”

In May 2018, the government signed a Master Project Support Agreement with Sinohydro to construct key infrastructure in exchange for Ghana’s refined bauxite proceeds.

Lots in Sinohydro deal

Lot 1 – Construction of Accra Inner City Roads. A total of 84 kilometres of roads located in Trobu, Anyaa-Sowutoum, Dome-Kwabenya, Adenta and Teshie will be constructed;

Lot 2 – Construction of Kumasi and Mampong Inner City Roads. A total of 100 kilometres of inner-city roads will be constructed in Kumasi and Mampong. In Kumasi, the affected road networks are in Manhyia, Suame, Tafo Pankrono, Asokwa, Kwadaso, Oforikrom, Subin, Nhyiaeso and Bantama;

Lot 3 – Construction of the Tamale Interchange;

Lot 4 – Construction of the PTC Roundabout Interchange in Sekondi-Takoradi, the first interchange in the western part of our country;

Lot 5 – Dualisation of the Adentan-Dodowa Road. 14 kilometres of the Adenta-Dodowa Road will be dualised to reduce congestion, improve road safety, and reduce travel times on the corridor;