Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa, has claimed that the convention center works at the Trade Fair site have been halted following the defeat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2024 elections.

In a recent update, Simons criticized the management of the Trade Fair project, pointing to a lack of progress and an abandonment of works initially started ahead of the election.

Simons, who has been consistently tracking the project, shared aerial photographs and videos of the site as of this morning, revealing that no changes have occurred since his last report in July this year.

He described the hurriedly started convention center works as an "elaborate scam," noting that they had been abandoned after the ruling party’s defeat. "No foundation earthworks were done, so they never really meant to build any structure," he said, referring to the project as a "Potemkin village."

He went on to provide an overview of the project’s troubled history, detailing how an optometrist and ruling party executive from North America was brought in to manage Ghana's most important exhibition center.

However, Simons noted that despite efforts, the redevelopment plan was never created. Instead, opaque deals were struck, and after eight years, only pictures and videos of the site remain.

Simons also mentioned the failed attempt by a group of prominent Ghanaians in Europe and the US to build a science and tech park at the Trade Fair, stating that their efforts were thwarted due to the refusal to submit to the under-the-table demands of powerbrokers.

He further emphasized that the Trade Fair debacle is just one example of the many projects that the incoming government will inherit, warning that similar outcomes are likely to recur in future projects due to the persistence of dealmakers in every administration.

Simons called for "critical voices" within the ruling party to help prevent such outcomes, urging supporters of the new government to become "insider-critics" and challenge corruption. He also suggested that all contracts related to the Trade Fair project, including those granting access to land, should be leaked for public scrutiny.

Simons concluded by stating that his team would continue to monitor the situation and examine any intelligence received from whistleblowers.