President John Dramani Mahama has rejected criticism from former Ashanti Regional Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Yandoh, over the involvement of Ghanaian soldiers in road construction.

The President described Yandoh’s comments as demonstrating a lack of understanding of the military’s historical involvement in national infrastructure development.

The disagreement follows remarks made by Yandoh during a radio discussion, where he questioned why soldiers were being deployed for road construction instead of concentrating on what he described as their traditional military responsibilities.

“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,” Yandoh said.

President Mahama responded to the comments while speaking over the weekend at a ceremony marking the handing over of the right-of-way for the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.

Referring to the radio commentary, Mahama strongly disagreed with the suggestion that soldiers should not be involved in road projects.

“I heard one of the radio commentators say, soldiers are now constructing roads. I mean he is ignorant,” the President said.

Mahama Points to Military’s Past Role in Road Development.

President Mahama supported his position by recalling the military’s involvement in infrastructure development during the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era under former President Jerry John Rawlings.

According to Mahama, soldiers played an important role when the Rawlings administration sought to improve access to the Afram Plains.

He specifically cited the Donkorkrom Road project, saying civilian contractors at the time were unable to undertake the road construction.

“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,” Mahama said.

The President’s remarks highlighted his position that the involvement of the military in road construction is not a new development in Ghana and has historical precedent.

The exchange between Mahama and Yandoh comes as attention focuses on the Accra-Kumasi Expressway and the government’s efforts to move the project forward following the handing over of its right-of-way.