Former President John Mahama has accused the Akufo-Addo administration of delivering “ponds” and “dugouts” rather than the irrigation dams he promised the people of northern Ghana in the lead-up to the 2016 general elections.

Speaking at the main opposition National Democratic Congress’ 27th-anniversary lecture, Mr Mahama, who is leading the party into the 2020 general elections, said unlike the NPP, the NDC keeps its promises.

“We are not the same as the NPP”, Mr Mahama observed, explaining: “We have always stood by the truth”.

“We have not told false promises just because we want political power”, the former president asserted, insisting: “We tell the people exactly what we can do for them and when we come into office, we make our best effort to deliver exactly what we said we can do for them”.

“It was in 2016 that NPP elevated false promises to a historic level”, Mr Mahama accused.

“It was just like anything the people want to hear because we want political power but you forget that when you have done that and you come into power, the reality will catch up with you”, Mr Mahama noted, adding: “Today, a large group of people are disappointed with the NPP”.

“Today, 1 Village-1 Dam has become 1 Village-1 Pond because, before the election, I asked that: ‘Are you digging dugouts or dams for irrigation purposes?’ They refused to answer and the reality has caught up [with them]. These are dugouts. In some cases, they do not even qualify as dugouts”, he declared.