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The running mate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahmud Bawumia, has announced a policy that would see every constituency given US$1 million in poverty alleviation scheme should his party win power.

This will be part of a proposed US$275 million allocation per year to tackle issues relating to infrastructural development and poverty alleviation in rural and deprived communities across the country.

“Every constituency in Ghana, every year from this programme, will get the equivalent of US$1 million to spend on priority infrastructure. You can use this US$1 million a year to deal with the problems of the constituency in the rural and deprived areas. It is up to the local people to decide what their problems are and what to use that US$1 million for,” Dr. Bawumia said. 

He explained that this would be part of the “Infrastructure for Poverty Alleviation Programme”, which will be established by a potential Nana Akufo-Addo government.

Speaking on Tuesday in Bunkpurugu, on the first day of Nana Akufo-Addo’s 4-day tour of the Northern Region, Dr. Bawumia explained that, the money for this programme will be drawn out of the capital budget of the country, which, according to the 2016 budget, stands at US$1.6 billion.

With each of the 275 constituencies benefiting from this programme, Dr. Bawumia noted that “we are going to put resources at the disposal of the rural communities and the poorest communities in every constituency.”

He stressed that “in the capital budget of the country, we are going to be spending US$1.6 billion on capital expenditures this year. Our new programme of infrastructure for poverty eradication, is therefore going to take US$275 million from the capital expenditure budget.

The NPP with this programme, Dr. Bawumia stated is “going to focus on rural development, on the poor, and after four years of Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo, with every constituency getting US$4 million, you will see growth in infrastructural development and poverty alleviation” in all 275 constituencies.