Month: May 2013

Mr. Laliri George Maban, Member of Parliament for Wulensi has bemoaned the poor state of the road network in the district, recounting that it is conspicuously affecting the promotion of agric in the area.

With most of the people predominantly engaged in farming activities especially in the rural communities of the district, it has always been a challenge for farmers to easily transport their farm produce to Wulensi and other urban centres for marketing because of bad road network, Mr Laliri revealed.

Highlighting the problem in an interview with Ghanmamps.gov.gh, the MP disclosed that even in some of the remotest villages and areas like what he called the ‘Overseas areas’ farmers frequently ply the path routes by walking and carrying their produce on their head to the towns. This he said was as a result of no road network linking those areas.

He maintained that this to a large extent was a disincentive to farmers to continue hanging on in farming business, and would ultimately inhibit the growth of agric and agric related activities.

He said in the mean time there is the need to embark on spot improvement on certain roads in the district, whiles others also just require the construction of a culvert to ensure smooth and easy accessibility.

He assured that he will be unrelenting in pushing efforts to lobby for good roads for the district to give impetus to development of the constituency he represents in parliament.

Jonathan Adjei/Ghanamps.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Fanteakwa South, Kofi Okyere-Agyekum has counselled his constituents on the need to save and invest for the future in order to have financial stability when they are out of active work.

He said it is disheartening for elderly people to struggle to make ends meet at a time when they are supposed to be enjoying their retirement.

Mr Okyere-Agyekum gave the advice when he inaugurated a welfare fund to cater for members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in his constituency at Bussoso in the Fanteakwa South Constituency in the Eastern Region.

He said though the retirement age from active service is 60 years, many people of that age bracket had a fear of the “unknown” because they had not made enough savings and investment to cover their post pension years, leading many to change their birth dates  to hold on to their jobs.

“Many people have had cause to change their dates of birth just to hold on to their jobs because they will have little or nothing to live on in the event of retirement. This situation has dire consequences during the days of retirement because they may not be financially cushioned enough to take care of life and its natural eventualities of demands,” he stressed.

The MP said the welfare needs of the people are paramount and there should be a systematic process to address them.

He pledged to contribute GH¢500 monthly to facilitate the growth and sustenance of the fund.

Some of the benefits of the fund include funeral support for members and their relatives, send-off party in the event that the member is moving to a different constituency, support for technical and vocational education including skill development training for the youth.

In another development, Mr Okyere- Agyekum has urged his constituents to remain calm and wait patiently for the Supreme Court to pronounce its verdict on the on-going court proceedings that is challenging the legitimacy of President John Mahama.

He said goings-on so far indicated that the NPP had a solid case in court “considering the mountains of evidence that the petitioners have gathered”.

The MP, who is on a familiarisation tour of his constituency, told a gathering at Osino that they should disregard “the propaganda being championed by NDC (National Democratic Congress) communicators” and “wait for briefings that will be given by the NPP’s Communicators”.

He noted that Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, NPP Vice Presidential Candidate in Election 2012 and star witness to the case has so far distinguished himself creditably and that his performance “had sent shivers down the spines of the NDC, hence their decision to use the propagandist approach to confuse the public”.

He asked supporters of the NPP to continue to foster unity in the party.

The MP visited more than 40 communities in the constituency including Osino, Bosooso, Nkankama, Ehiamankyene and Saaman.

GNA

A three hundred thousand Ghana cedis (GHs300, 000) accident and emergency ward for the Suhum Government Hospital is about 85 percent complete, the Member of Parliament for the Suhum has disclosed.

The Member of Parliament, Frederick Opare-Ansah who is undertaking the project said major works on the structure has been completed leaving tarring of floor, painting and some electrical works to get the facility ready for use. The facility he indicated contains surgical ward, consulting room, recovery ward, ambulance parking space and underground storage.

Mr. Opare-Ansah said construction of the project was informed by the fact that Suhum is strategically positioned  and serve as major cross road for travelers from Accra, Kumasi, Koforidua and surrounding areas. According to him, a lot of accident cases are recorded in the area that requires urgent attention and Suhum Government Hospital is the nearest compared to Nsawam, Accra and Koforidua.

Unfortunately, the Suhum Hospital had been without accident and emergency wards so accident victims that are taken to the hospital mixed with patients with other minor health problems.  This he noted was not healthy enough and do not offer any special attention to accident victims.

He therefore hopes constructing this facility will help save a lot of lives as accident victims will be handled as emergencies.

Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Some vulnerable groups in the Chereponi district will soon get the chance to access healthcare free of charge without constraints as Mr. Azumah Namoro Sanda, Member of Parliament for the area has considered to register them under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Speaking in an interview with Ghanamps.gov.gh, Mr Namoro Sanda reiterated that he has resolved to use portions of his NHIS fund to cover all expenses on such move, adding that the individuals captured for this support initiative will include Persons Living with Disability (PLWD), the Aged, as well as Women and children.

He estimated that such an intervention will go a long to improve their wellbeing in the district and also assist them get leverage in accessing quality healthcare in all the facilities in the area.

Meanwhile, it is reported that snake bites is rampant in the local communities of the area during the rainy seasons.

To this end, Mr. Namoro Sanda pledged to channel part of his NHIS fund to purchase anti-snake drugs and vaccines to all the health facilities in the district to contain the situation.

Jonathan Adjei/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Member of Parliament for Ahanta West, George Kwame Aboagye has constructed sheds for the Agona Nkwanta market to provide shades for the market women.

According to him, prior to the building of the structure the traders had no option than to sell their wares in the open space, exposing them to the vagaries of the weather and endangering their health in the process.

Speaking to Ghanamps.gov.gh, Hon. George Kwame Aboagye stated that the building of the sheds was in fulfilment of his promise which he made during the electioneering campaign to provide the market women a suitable environment to sell their wares.

He disclosed that the construction of the project which cost him about GHC 6,000.00 from his own resources is evidence of his commitment to ensuring the welfare of his constituents irrespective of their social class or creed.

Hon. George Kwame Aboagye noted that he was also supporting the building of three (3) toilets facilities for three communities namely; Alaba nkwanta, Yakow and Chaven with 50 bags of cement each to help in the construction of the toilets.

On the development of health in the area, he added that he had ensured the connection of pipe born water to the Apowa Health Centre which hitherto lacked pipe born water.

Hon. George Kwame Aboagye stated that the earlier situation resulted in pregnant women who visited the health centre to deliver having to go with their own water, which was a great source of discomfort for them.

He pledged to ensure an improvement in the quality of health services rendered in the area to satisfy the health needs of the people could be met.

Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps,gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Gomoa West Constituency, Hon. Francis Kojo Arthur has stated emphatically that the recent water crisis in some parts of the area will soon be a thing of the past as government has strengthened efforts to complete the Antiadze Dam.

The 221m Euro project which was started under the erstwhile Mills-led NDC administration was targeted at ensuring an equitable water distribution to various communities which fall along the coastal belts within the constituency.

According to him, pipe-borne water was the only means of providing potable water to these communities since the water-table along those areas were found to be very salty, thus the need to construct the Antiadze Dam.

He said, even though the dam is not yet operational, some of the communities which do not fall deep in the salty environment had already been provided with either boreholes or overhead tanks to ensure potable water supply to various households.

Emmanuel Frimpong Mensah/GhanaMPs.gov.gh

The Member of Parliament for Akim Oda Constituency, Hon. William Quaittoo Agyapong has indicated his intentions to reconstruct the main Akim Oda town bridge as part efforts to improve transportation in the area.

Speaking in an interview with GhanaMPs.gov.gh, the MP however noted that efforts are also been made to meet various Timber Companies in the area including EPL, Oda Sawmill among others to seek their financial support to assist it construction.

He however expressed worry over the current nature of the bridge stating that the bridge could totally collapse if immediate measures are not put in place to save the situation.

According to the legislator, the present delay in disbursement of common funds has stalled development in the area but noted that initial projects executed within the constituency were finance through his personal generated funds.

Hon. Quaittou Agyapong was of the view that transportation in the area could improve significantly if measures are made to reconstruct the said bridge.

Emmanuel Frimpong Mensah/GhanaMPs.gov.gh

Mr. Sagre Bambangi, Member of Parliament for Walewale has expressed concern that no reliefs have yet been made available to victims that were affected in a recent rainstorm which occurred in Walewale some few months ago.

The disaster which happened on 18th March this year, in Walewale specifically the market area left about 39 individuals injured and 5 others also losing their lives, whiles roofings of several school buildings and houses were ripped off in the area.

Mr. Bambangi recounting the aftermath of the unfortunate event in an interview with Ghanamps.gov.gh stated that he was surprised no meaningful  support have yet been given to any of the victims.

He said the incident has significantly impeded teaching and learning activities in the affected schools he visited quiet recently.

He claimed he has made some frantic efforts to lobby some relief agencies and organizations to assist the people affected but maintained that no better results have been achieved.

The MP however disclosed that some agencies like the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Red Cross Society of Ghana have so far intervened with some relief items but was quick to add that the items were in this case inappropriate to ameliorate their problems.

Some of the items donated so far to the victims included blankets and buckets whiles NADMO has also given some food items like maize and rice to the bereaved families.

He thereby implored benevolent organizations and other relief agencies to come to the rescue of such individuals and support them with some relief items particularly building materials as victims who were displaced as a result of the rainstorm will need assistance to secure shelter in respect of the issue at hand.

Jonathan Adjei/Ghanamps.gov.gh

At least three communities in the Wulensi constituency in the Northern region have each obtained grinding mill procured by the Member of Parliament for the area, Laliri George Maban to assist them ease their economic burden in the area.

An amount worth GHS 12,000 was expended by the MP to secure the facilities for the beneficiary communities so it could ostensibly reduce the stress of residents particularly women in their quest to accessing such facilities in their respective environs.

Beneficiary communities that were considered in this move included Chichadi, Moba, and Bienayili respectively, Mr Laliri Maban disclosed in an interaction with Ghanamps.gov.gh.

In other related development, the MP has also donated certain basic farming tools such as Cutlasses and Wellington boots to aid farmers in the district.

Also about 20 packets of roofing sheets have been supplied to some few households that were affected by rainstorm recently in some few communities of the area. This was consequently provided by the MP to assist alleviate the plight of victims.

However, the MP assured that he had made funding available to the Assembly to undertake a rehabilitation project on some few malfunctioning boreholes in the area.

He revealed that he has committed an amount to the tune of GHS3,000 from the MP’s Common Fund to cater for the project in all the project areas earmarked under this move.

Jonathan Adjei/Ghanamps.gov.gh

Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfro, Hon. Bright Edward Kodzo has assured his constituents of his preparedness to spearhead traffic free cruise on the Kasoa stretch of road linking the area to other towns.

Residence in this area always experience vehicular traffic especially at the Osiadan junction and it usually worsens whenever it rains in the area.

The cause of this phenomenon has however been heaped at the lack of drainages on the road coupled with quarry activities that take place there.

Hon. Kodzo making this known to Ghanamps.gov.gh’s Emmanuel Asare said he had had discussions with the Ghana highway authority concerning the situation promising to help curb the problem soon.

Emmanuel Opoku Asare/Ghanamps.gov.gh