The Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi Constituency says the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) has done next to nothing to improve the lives of residents in the Western Region.
Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah says despite the rich resources found in the region and revenue that accrues to government the people are still wallowing in abject poverty. The region is blessed with crude oil, large mines of gold and manganese.
“The NDC touts infrastructure and roads as some of its achievements but the roads are in an appalling situation,” he bemoaned.
The MP made these remarks when he participated in the Joy Ballot Box programme held in the Western Regional town of Sekondi-Takoradi Friday.
The special programme which has been replicated in the ten regions of Ghana tackles key issues relevant to Ghanaians as the general election inches closer.
Out of the many issues on the table for the 386 people who participated in the voting process, large number of them singled out unemployment issues and the falling standard of living as the two issues which would influence their votes in the December polls.
On head to head the two issues both polled 56, pitching them ahead of the other issues.
They are unhappy that youth unemployment is rising with its concomitant fall in standard of living when the region has been blessed with rich resources.
Minister of Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has predicted a massive win for President John Mahama in the region because of projects he has executed.
At the inauguration of the NDC Western Regional Campaign Task Force at Awiebo in the region, Mr Buah listed projects such as the Takoradi Port Expansion and the Western Railway Expansion as clear evidence of the President’s commitment to “touch the lives of the hardworking people of the region.”
But Mr Darko Mensah says the President’s performance in the region is a “spectacular failure” adding, there is lack of transparency in the use of the revenue generated from the resources.
He says he has on several platforms agitated for something to be done for residents of the region and this explains why he backed the chiefs to demand 10 percent retention of oil revenue for local development.
“There is unemployment and a lot of the young men are travelling to look for employment elsewhere,” he said, adding, “Ghana’s development is like Kwashiorkor because only Accra gets the development.”
The MP promised a different situation in the region when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is given the mandate. The Coastal Development Authority among other projects would be used to improve the living conditions of the people, he said.
He urged the residents to vote for the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to move the nation to its befitting level.
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