Vigorous Campaign for Tema parliament seats

THE Race for parliamentary seats in the three constituencies in the Tema metropolis is heating up, with contending parties adopting campaign strategies to outdo one another in convincing the electorate to give them their mandate.

With giant billboards scattered across vantage points in the three constituencies advertising their messages of hope and prosperity, the candidates and their supporters are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to represent the people in the next legislative assembly in January 2013.

The contest in the Tema West Constituency, however, is seen as the keenest since 1992.

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo, would lock horns with the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo.

Ms Addo who obtained 39,076, representing 55.1 per cent in the 2008 parliamentary election against the NDC’s George Medie’s 30,434, representing 42.9 per cent, would be seeking to scale up the margin against the new entrant, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, a former national organiser of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Ms Addo, a legal practitioner by profession, had previously defeated the then incumbent MP and Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Joseph Boahene Aidoo.

Having served as a Deputy Ambassador at the Ghana Embassy in Washington, United States of America, (USA), Ms Addo’s popularity rose when she, together with Mr Atta Akyea, served as a legal representative for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for an ex-parte motion to stop the Electoral Commissioner, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan and the Electoral Commission (EC) from declaring final election results of the 2008 general election.

Both candidates, pundits say, are likely to bring their experiences and expertise in the area of governance, education and infrastructure development to bear, should they win the seat.

The entry of the NDC candidate, who also doubles as the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, according to some electorates, has brought some dynamics into the game, prompting Ms Addo into reorganising her campaign strategy.

Having served as Minister in the Eastern Region, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo has been described as one the most dynamic National Organisers the ruling party has ever had, having served in that position from 2001- 2008.

His organisational abilities and the ability to mobilise people were described as a major tool that worked to the advantage of the NDC in the 2008 general election.

In the word of the Communications Director of the NDC, Mr James Asante, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo’s effectiveness greatly transformed the party’s fortunes during the last election.

In spite of these attributes, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo faces a herculean task since the constituency has always swayed to the NPP in every other election since 1996.

Apart from 1992, where Ms Gladys Boateng won the seat on the ticket of the NDC, the seat has become a safe haven for the opposition.

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has also revitalised its campaign with a gender advocate, Ms Susan Adu-Amankwah, also scaling up her game to capture the seat.

Would she make an impact this time round, in spite of a poor showing at the district assembly election, where she attempted representing the Halcrow Electoral Area in Comm Two?

Many see the journey to Parliament as a horse race between Ms Addo and Mr Ofosu-Ampofo.
According to the Assemblyman for the Halcrow Electoral Area, Mr Eric Akwasi Poku Bosompem, the NDC and NPP candidates need to work hard to achieve victory.

Mr Bosompem, a member of the NPP in the constituency and a known critic of the incumbent MP is of the view that although the NDC candidate has so far endeared himself to the people as a development oriented person and one who is accessible to the people, Ms Addo ought to reconcile the rank and file of the NPP in the constituency.

The formation of a group known as the Redemption Group by disgruntled members of the NPP in the constituency has also been identified as major challenge to Ms Addo’s chances.

The former Second Vice-Chairman of the constituency, Dr Martin Antwi, who is the leader of the group, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that they were thinking of putting up an independent candidate to slug it out with the two major contenders for the constituency.

“We are also considering a skirt and blouse vote as an option,” Dr Antwi said, and added that the group has arranged a meeting with the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NPP to address the numerous complaints of disaffection among the electorate among other issues that were likely to derail the party’s chances of retaining the seat in the December election.
 

Writer’s email: della.russel@graphic.com.gh

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Wed Oct 17, 2012

AMA secures $1.2 m grant for Cantonments street lights

THE Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has secured a $1.2 million from the government of China to finance the installation of street lights at Cantonments in Accra.

In that light, officials of Huawei Technologies Ghana, a leading Information Technology (IT) company, have signed an implementation contract agreement with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for the commencement of the project.

The project would see the installation of 275 solar-powered lights and 80 watts lamps at Cantonments and its catchment areas.

The Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Alfred Okoh Vanderpuije, initialed on behalf of the AMA, while the Deputy Managing Director of Huawei signed for his organisation.

The project, which is set to take off at the end of October, according to the Counsellor at the Economic and Commercial Office at the Chinese Embassy, Mr Gao Wenzhi, formed part of the Chinese Government’s new energy project aimed at helping Africa improve its overall capability in terms of development

Mr Wenzhi said the Chinese Government had outlined three priority areas: agriculture, manufacturing industries and infrastructure development, to enable Africa catch up with development.

“The Chinese Government is determined to continue with human resource development programmes to aid Africa catch up with development, while promoting regional integration”, he said, adding that over 1,800 Chinese Government scholarships had been offered to train 30,000 Africans in the three priority areas.

He also announced China’s commitment to help build more agricultural demonstration centres to aid Africa to enhance the production, processing, storage and distribution of agricultural products.

He expressed optimism that the project, the first in the West African sub-region, would serve as a model to further encourage enough investment in that aspect.

The Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Power, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, who witnessed the signing of the agreement, lauded the Chinese Government for extending its assistance to Ghana and said the Chinese assistance was important to the sustenance of power in the country.

“This project will not only provide illumination for Cantonments, but will also reduce significantly, the incidence of robberies in parts of Accra, ” he added.

Alhaji Fuseini also announced that the China Water and Electric Company (CWEC) had also initiated a process to implement a $180 million contract to connect remote communities in the Brong Ahafo and northern regions to the national electricity grid.

He expressed the hope that the Chinese Government’s selection of Ghana to demonstrate its new energy programme in Africa would further deepen the cooperation between the two countries.

Mr Vanderpuije, for his part, said the AMA had so far financed the construction of over 3,000 streetlights in its quest to eliminate dark spots in the metropolis.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Tue Oct 16, 2012