Some youth of Anlo Beach, a settler community in the Shama constituency of the Western Region, say they have lost hope in the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the December 7 polls.
According to the disgruntled youth, the inhabitants have been voting for NDC for years, but have nothing to show for it, not even clean water to drink.
They expressed their disappointment to Citi FM’s Samurais, a pre-election constituency watch team who were in the Western Region to speak to residents about what would inform their voting choices.
The other team, known as the Delta Squad covered the Northern sector of the country.
Anlo Beach residents told the Samurais that they have been left in the state of hopelessness as government has failed to provide them with potable water.
They are compelled to drink water from dilapidated wells, which they say is too salty for human consumption.
The Samurais took a few minutes journey on a canoe, from Shama beach to the migrant community with 31-year-old George Kpovi, who indicated he was highly disillusioned.
He said he and his colleagues may not vote in the December polls.
According to him, the settler community voted for NPP once in 2004; but the Kufuor administration also did nothing for them.
Mr. Kpovi said they returned to NDC in 2008, and has since been voting for them without receiving any benefits.
“I will not vote this year because I have not seen any improvement in my life since I started voting. I have misplaced my voter ID and even if I go for a new one, I will not vote in this year’s election. We the boys and girls are suffering here,” Kpovi said in despair.
He maintained that the residents may boycott the 2016 general election if the governing NDC fails to solve a myriad of challenges confronting them.
However, sentiments have been expressed that the governing party can win back the hearts of its longstanding loyalists in the settler community with last minute political operations.
Inhabitants of Anlo B each with a voter population of about 1,200, according to Kpovi, migrated from Dzita and Agbozume in the Volta Region, to settle in the Shama area around 1930s.
Mr. Kpovi said the governing party has not kept faith with the residents for all the votes they have delivered over the years as government has failed to provide jobs for the youth.
“We vote all the time for NDC and we get nothing in return. There is no development, nothing. There are no jobs and that is what we the boys and girls are facing here. Government says it is bringing roads to our community; but what is the importance of the roads to the youth if they don’t have any jobs to do. Roads are good; but government must also provide jobs for the youth so that we will be able to take care of ourselves and our children,” Kpovi, a fisherman and father of one lamented.
He appealed to government to provide jobs for the youth, saying the only work for the teeming unemployed youth is fishing which is no more profitable.
“People go to school and they don’t have jobs to do. You go to Shama Senior High School and the only hope for you after completion is go and pull the fishing net for something to eat. Because without fishing we cannot eat, we have a lot of children and youth not going to school or dropping out of school to do fishing to support their families. Now the fishing business is bad, what are we going to do to feed our families,” Kpovi quizzed rhetorically.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
