Alex Salmond says Humza Yousaf must use new borrowing powers to honour the SNP’s pledge to dual the A9 and A96.
The former first minister accused his successors of having a “strange lack of commitment” to finishing the projects.
The SNP were elected to Holyrood in 2007 – when Mr Salmond was leading the party – off the back of a promise to dual the A9, with a further commitment in 2011.
Speaking exclusively to us as the Alba Party conference continues in Glasgow, he said Mr Yousaf should follow up his announcement of new Scottish Government bonds with a pledge to use extra funds to finish dualling the routes.
The move will see the government enter the international bonds market for the first time to finance infrastructure and help build credibility with investors.
Mr Salmond also revealed he has been snubbed by Humza Yousaf after the former first minister suggested holding talks when they met at Winnie Ewing’s memorial service.
And revealed he is backing a new proposal from Alba members that would see a guaranteed universal income for mothers to cover the early years of a child’s life.
‘Get on with the job’
Mr Salmond said: “What I’m trying to do is explain is how you can link the idea of a Scottish bond to a very specific infrastructure project like the A9 or A96, and deliver these vital roads in a defined timescale.
“The bond possibility is something I negotiated 10 years ago with George Osborne when he was chancellor. For some reason or another, through the years of very low interest rates, it wasn’t used.
“So I’m pleased that Humza has rediscovered it but let’s not just talk about bonds in abstract, but what they could do.
“And one of the things they could do is accelerate the commitment to the dualling of these vital infrastructure roads and get on with the job as opposed to pushing them back into the never never, which is sadly what has happened in the past few years.”
Mr Salmond says his government were on track to complete the A9 project by 2025 when he left office.
He also expressed disappointment over progress to dual the A96 by 2030.
What does the government say?
The Scottish Government said earlier this year that a 2025 completion date is “simply unachievable”.
Jenny Gilruth, who was transport secretary at the time, said that target was always reliant on a range of factors such as completing consultations, approval processes, market capacity and the availability of funding.
But Alex Neil, the former SNP minister responsible for committing to 2025, told a Holyrood inquiry that excuses on timescales are “utter nonsense”.
Mr Neil said “realistic” and fully-costed plans were set out by government agency Transport Scotland officials in May 2012 on his instruction.
SNP veteran Fergus Ewing, who has been suspended from the party, has repeatedly rebelled against his own government over delays to the plan.
Mr Salmond backed the action taken by Mr Ewing and criticised those who he believes have failed to stand up for their communities.
He said: “It’s time that these commitments were honoured.
“The one member of the Scottish Parliament I would absolve from any criticism on this is Fergus Ewing, who has determinedly attempted to force the pace on these roads and was prepared to rebel against his own government to make the point.
“I have to say I don’t think there are any other people who can regard their contribution with much pride in the last few years.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The first minister is committed to delivering on priorities as set out in his Programme for Government and the three missions centred on the themes of equality, opportunity and community, as detailed in his policy prospectus.”
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