Claim:
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that he never promised the people of Cape Coast that he will build them a new harbor.
Verdict:
False
Explanation:
During his October 2021 Central region tour, the president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, made a stop at Cape Coast, the region’s capital, to interact with the people through a radio interview.
In that interview, he explained that a harbour in the regional capital was not a part of his promises when he sought re-election.
The president, seeking to clarify his position, referenced page 88 of the NPP’s 2020 Manifesto, dubbed “Leadership of Service: Protecting our Progress, Transforming Ghana for All,” to state that what he promised the people of Cape Coast was actually a landing site and not a harbour.
“First of all, there is a clarification, the commitment was never to a harbour; it was to a landing site. It is very important and when you look inside page 88 of the NPP manifesto for the 2020 election it was very clear,” he stated.
The president indicated that the construction of the landing site will commence somewhere next year.
“We have to be very clear in our mind, we never committed ourselves, I never said I was going to build a harbour in Cape Coast. I said I was going to build a landing site like what I have done in these other six places in the Central Region. Cape Coast also will have its landing site and the construction of that will begin next year,” the president stated.
Verification:
The New Patriotic Party’s manifesto going into the 2020 elections was dubbed, “Leadership of Service: Protecting our Progress, Transforming Ghana for All,” and is contained in a 216-page document.
As referred to by the president, the 88th page of the manifesto speaks about Infrastructure Development.
The tabulated list has three segments: Number, Promises, and What We Have Done So Far, and numbered 205, 206, 207, 208, and 209.
Under item number 207, it reads under “Promises”:
“Continue building landing sites at Cape Coast, Mumford, Teshie, Axim, Keta, Ada, Jamestown & Winneba.”
Going back to what the president said in that interview, the above portion of the NPP’s 2020 manifesto supports his claim that they promised to build a landing site, even though it isn’t much of a new promise.
However, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo also stated that they never stated that they would build a new harbor for the people of Cape Coast.
In August 2020, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President of Ghana, while addressing the party members, said they will establish an airport, and a harbour to boost tourism and economic activities.
“We will accelerate our investments in roads, railways, and ports. And for the people of Cape Coast, I have good news for you. We are building a new harbour in Cape Coast and a new airport in Cape Coast. It is very critical that we do that.
“An airport makes a lot of sense in Cape Coast. It’s a real tourism hub. Between Greater Accra and Kumasi and Cape Coast, you have a triangle that is really a hub of economic activities. It is a major growth pole If we put an airport there to drive infrastructural growth,” he promised while reading excerpts of the manifesto.
Going back to the NPP’s 2020 manifesto, it states clearly on page 160 of the document – as continued from the previous page under the subheading “Roads, Railways, Ports and Harbours,” that the party will commence the construction of a new harbor in Cape Coast, as seen in the photo below.
Conclusion:
While a part of the statement by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on exactly what he and his party, the New Patriotic Party, intend to do for the people of Cape Coast is true, the major statement on whether they promised to build a new harbor in the city is true.
The GhanaWeb Factcheck desk therefore rates the claim on, “Did Akufo-Addo promise Cape Coast a harbor?” as yes, and therefore his denial makes the claim false that he did promise such a thing.
