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During the manifesto launch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on August 24, 2024, in the Central Region, the party’s National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, emphasized that under the erstwhile John Mahama’s leadership, several significant infrastructure projects were completed.
These projects according to him included West Africa’s largest port and best airports, multiple interchanges, and numerous health facilities.
Mr Gyamfi also praised the achievements of the NDC’s flagbearer, John Mahama, and vice-presidential candidate, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, particularly in the education sector, highlighting the construction and commissioning of community day senior high schools during Mahama’s administration.
Fact-Check Ghana has verified the claims on airports, ports, education and health and presents the facts below.
Claim 1: “In only 4 years, this man [John Mahama] gave the best of airports in the whole of West Africa.”
Verdict: Misleading
Explanations: Under former President John Mahama’s tenure from 2012 to 2016, significant efforts were made to enhance Ghana’s aviation infrastructure. Notable projects included the expansion of Kotoka International Airport with the construction of Terminal 3 to increase capacity and modernize facilities.
The Kumasi Airport was upgraded to international standards with an extended runway and new terminal facilities, while Tamale Airport was expanded to accommodate larger aircraft and support the Hajj pilgrimage.
Mahama’s administration also initiated the construction of Ho Airport and upgraded Wa Airstrip to improve regional connectivity. Although John Mahama upgraded the aforementioned airports and initiated the construction of the Ho Airport, none of these airports were actually started and completed by him. Also, apart from the upgraded Kotoka International Airport which is reported to have won a handful of awards in the subregion and on the continent, none of the other mentioned is considered best in West Africa.
While these developments represent substantial contributions to the country’s airport infrastructure, it is misleading for the NDC National Communication Officer, Sammy Gyamfi to claim that Mr Mahama provided the best airports in West Africa within four years.
Claim 2: “In only 4 years, this man [John Mahama] gave us the biggest port in the whole of West Africa and I am not talking about a project somebody started and he came to complete it. Projects started and completed [by him].”
Verdict: False
Explanation: Ports are ranked based on cargo volume, capacity, and overall infrastructure but Mr Gyamfi failed to indicate the basis for his claim or source it.
To fact-check this claim, Fact-Check Ghana analysed various sources, such as World Port Source, Port Watch, tools that use UN global platform data to track port and trade activity across the world, Institute of Shipping Economies and Logistics, media reports, port rankings, and official websites of all the ports in West Africa. The analysis focused on the size of these ports and their annual cargo handling capacities to determine the biggest ports in the region.
The Port of Lagos in Nigeria, which includes Apapa Port and Tin Can Island Port, is the largest port in West Africa. It spans approximately 1,793 hectares (4,431 acres) and handles over 80 million metric tons of cargo annually. This port also manages over 1.5 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) each year. Due to its vast infrastructure, including multiple terminals and deep berths, the Port of Lagos is capable of handling a wide variety of cargo, from containers to bulk goods and petroleum products, making it the busiest port in West Africa.
The Port of Lomé in Togo covers about 900 hectares (2,224 acres) and handles approximately 22 million metric tons of cargo each year, with around 1.5 million TEUs managed annually. The port’s deep-water facilities, with depths of up to 16.5 meters, allow it to accommodate some of the largest ships globally. It serves as a crucial transhipment hub in the region, offering advanced container handling and storage capabilities, and is strategically significant for trade across multiple West African countries.
Next in size is the Port of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, which occupies around 770 hectares (1,903 acres). The port handles over 25 million metric tons of cargo annually and processes about 1 million TEUs. The port’s extensive infrastructure includes a deep-water channel suitable for larger vessels, container terminals, bulk terminals, oil and liquid terminals, and a Ro-Ro [roll-on, roll-off] terminal for vehicles, positioning it as a key player in the region’s maritime trade, particularly for agricultural exports like cocoa and coffee.
The Tema Port in Ghana spans about 3.9 million square meters (approximately 963 acres) and handles around 17 million metric tons of cargo each year, with container traffic reaching about 900,000 TEUs annually. The port has undergone recent expansions, including additional berths and deeper drafts, enhancing its capacity to accommodate larger vessels and making it a vital hub for maritime trade in West Africa.
The Port of Dakar in Senegal covers approximately 350 hectares (865 acres) and handles about 17 million metric tons of cargo per year, managing around 750,000 TEUs. This port, located at the westernmost point of Africa, is an essential hub for maritime trade between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It includes specialized terminals for containers, oil, bulk cargo, and fishing, as well as facilities for Ro-Ro services, passenger traffic, and ship repairs.
Based on the above, it is clear that the Tema Port in Ghana is not the biggest port in West Africa. The Port of Lagos in Nigeria is the biggest in terms of both size and cargo volume, spanning approximately 1,793 hectares (4,431 acres) and handling over 80 million metric tons of cargo and 1.5 million TEUs annually.
The expansion of the Tema Port began on November 17, 2016, when former President John Dramani Mahama initiated the first phase of the project. This expansion, financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and estimated to cost $1.5 billion, was a joint venture between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and Meridian Port Services (MPS), along with its partners, Bolloré Transport & Logistics and APM Terminals. The project was part of a 35-year concession agreement and aimed to significantly enhance Ghana’s position in West Africa’s maritime industry. The expansion included new infrastructure, crane installations, and terminal operating system upgrades to accommodate mega-ships carrying up to 18,000 TEUs, with an expected completion date in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The second phase of the Tema Port Expansion Project was officially inaugurated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on November 17, 2023. This phase focuses on further expanding the terminal’s footprint from 100 hectares to 127 hectares, including the paving of a 270,000-square-meter area. The goal of this phase is to enhance the port’s capacity and efficiency further, with an expected completion date of September 2025.
From the above, it cannot be said that former president John Mahama gave Ghana the biggest of ports in four years. Therefore, the claim by NDC National Communication Officer, Sammy Gyamfi that John Mahama gave Ghana the biggest port is false.
Claim 3: “In only 4 years under his leadership, the Bank of Ghana Hospital was built.”
Verdict: Misleading
Explanation: According to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison the project began as the Bank Clinic in 1987.
Later in 2012, the then General Services Department and the Medical Department developed a Needs Assessment that served as the foundation for building a hospital for the Bank. Following a Competitive Tender Process in 2013, the Bank signed a Design and Build Contract with Universal Hospitals Group (UHG) for the construction of a 65-bed Hospital on the Bank’s property in East Cantonments. The total cost of the project was approximately 80 million Euros. The project started in April 2014.
In 2017, a new BoG management was constituted for the bank following a change in Government. The new management inherited three different projects at various levels of completion, according to the Governor of the BoG. The management saw to the completion of the projects including the hospital project. It started operating in 2020 and was commissioned in 2021.
Although the hospital was built during the tenure of the erstwhile Mahama administration, Fact-Check Ghana could not find any official parliamentary or government document that backs the claim that the facility was entirely built by the former president. On the contrary, the available evidence which includes several media reports indicates that the hospital was completed and commissioned after John Mahama’s tenure. This is consistent with the claim by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison.
Claim 4: “In only 4 years, the Ghana Maritime Hospital was built under his leadership.”
Verdict: Misleading
Explanation: The International Maritime Hospital was built by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) in 2016 and became operational in 2017. The 130-bed facility was reported to have been built at $23 million from the GPHA’s internally generated funds (IGF) (here, here and here).
In a news report on a visit by former President John Mahama to inspect the facility, he said, “As you know, Government has been investing a lot of money in healthcare… but you are aware that Government cannot do it alone. There’s a limitation to the resources we have and therefore when organisations like GPHA put this kind of investment to improve the healthcare in the maritime area here in Tema, it compliments the effort of Government.”
Evidently, the assertion by Sammy Gyamfi that the international maritime hospital was built under the leadership of the Former President is misleading as it is clear that the construction of the hospital was funded by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and not the John Mahama government.
Claim 5: “And under his leadership in only 4 years, we saw the single contribution to our secondary schools in Ghana. The commencement and construction of 124 secondary schools, 46 of which has been completed and operationalized,” Sammy Gyamfi referred to Mr. Mahama’s tenure.
Regarding the vice-presidential candidate, he added, “More importantly, this woman served as an Education Minister, and it was under her [Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang] that we saw the construction of several Community Day Senior High Schools, 46 of which were fully completed and operationalized.”
Verdict: No Evidence
Explanation: In 2018, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) requested the use of 40% of its revenue to secure a $1.5 billion loan for educational infrastructure focusing on the Community Day SHSs.
Additionally, the Government of Ghana and the World Bank Group signed a $156 million financing agreement to improve access to secondary education in deprived communities across the country.
This grant supported the Ghana Secondary Education Improvement Project, which aimed to expand access to education by constructing 23 standard four-story classroom blocks, known as “E-Blocks,” along with laboratories, toilets, teachers’ flats, headteachers’ bungalows, technical and vocational blocks (where necessary), and other essential structures and equipment. The “E-Blocks” were named for their design, which resembles the letter “E.”
In an interview with Accra-based TV XYZ after leaving power, Mr Mahama explained that the construction of the Community Day SHS was divided into two categories: 50 schools funded by GETFund and 23 funded by the World Bank. He added that the projects under GETFund were halted by the NPP government, which claimed it would audit them.
Inconsistencies in Data
The claims regarding the number of Community Day SHSs completed and commissioned by the John Mahama administration before leaving office have been inconsistent, especially between officials of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), mainly John Mahama and Sammy Gyamfi.
In his last State of the Nation Address on January 5, 2017, Mr Mahama informed Parliament that 47 projects had been completed at that time.
However, in 2021, following an accusation by NPP’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, who stated that only 29 of the schools were completed, Mr Mahama in a bid to clarify this assertion said that his government had completed 46 of these schools, of which 36 were commissioned before he left office.
He mentioned that in their Handing Over Notes, they indicated that 46 were completed, a claim which was supported by Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the NPP’s vice-presidential candidate, who also stated that the NDC completed “only 46 of the E-Blocks.” Note that Mahama did not say he completed 46 schools and got all of them commissioned and or operationalized. He said he completed 46 Community Day SHSs but 36 of them were commissioned with the remaining waiting to admit students when his government left office. This contradicts Mr Gyamfi’s claim at the party’s manifesto launch that 46 schools were completed and operationalized.
On October 3, 2022, the NDC stated that the John Mahama-led administration completed 46 E-Block projects. The party maintains that all these facilities were inspected by the former President, along with chiefs, community leaders, and the media, during their commissioning.
But 27 days later during an appearance on Accra-based TV3’s KeyPoints program on October 30, 2022, the party’s communicator, Mr Gyamfi claimed the number was actually 50.
“Even the blind can see the 124 community day senior high schools that the erstwhile Mahama government started; 50 of them were completed and commissioned,” he said.
However, in a statement from GETFund, the funder of the schools in October 2022, it was reported that “by the end of the year 2016, 22 of the E-Blocks being funded by GETFund were completed.” It also mentioned that another seven of the schools funded by the World Bank were completed by the end of 2016, bringing the total number to 29.
The statement explained that the government awarded 101 contracts for Community Day Senior High Schools (E-Blocks) between 2014 and 2016 under GETFund, aside from 23 other projects funded by the World Bank.
According to GETFund by the end of 2020, 30 more E-Blocks were completed—14 funded by GETFund and 16 by the World Bank. Additionally, GETFund terminated 27 E-Blocks in 2018, stating that “38 E-Blocks are at various stages of completion.”
Despite these figures, when Mr Mahama and his Vice-Presidential Candidate engaged the Central Regional House of Chiefs on July 30, 2024, as part of their campaign ahead of the 2024 elections, Mr Mahama stated that his government had completed more than 73 of these schools.
“It was under her [Prof. Opoku-Agyemang] that the 124-community day senior high schools started, with more than 73 of those model E-Blocks completed before we left office,” he told the Chiefs in the Central Region.
Based on the above explanations, it is clear that there is no evidence to support Sammy Gyamfi’s claim that 46 Community Day SHSs were completed and operationalized under former President John Mahama. The explanations also do not back the previous claims by Mr Mahama and Mr Gyamfi that more than 73 or 50 of these schools were completed.
