President John Dramani Mahama has criticised former Ashanti Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Yandoh, over his comments about soldiers being used to construct roads.
Mr Yandoh had questioned the deployment of soldiers on road construction, arguing that the military was no longer focused on its traditional duties.
“Today, Ghana’s soldiers have stopped fighting wars. They no longer go on missions in Lebanon and other places. Now, Ghana’s soldiers are constructing roads,” he said during a radio discussion.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the handing over of the right-of-way for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway over the weekend, President Mahama described the comment as a sign of ignorance.
“I heard one of the radio commentators say, soldiers are now constructing roads. I mean he is ignorant,” President Mahama said.
He recalled the role of the military during the PNDC era, when former President Jerry John Rawlings initiated efforts to open up the Afram Plains.
“For those of us who were old enough in the PNDC era when Rawlings decided to open up Afram Plains, no civilian contractor could construct Donkorkrom Road,” he said.
