Kwame Aboagye
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate and incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahanta West, George Kwame Aboagye, allegedly failed to turn up for a crucial parliamentary debate organised for the 2016 parliamentary candidates in the constituency.
The debate was organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), in partnership with the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD)-Ghana, Friends of the Nation and UCSOND.
It was held under the theme: ‘Prioritizing Fisheries and Oil and Gas Governance Issues for Inclusive Development’, and was supported by the Ghana Oil and Gas for Inclusive Growth, STAR-Ghana and OXFAM.
Majority of the constituents and the teeming NDC supporters who thronged the Agona-Nkwanta main lorry park on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 to witness the parliamentary debate were disappointed when the Ahanta West MP failed to show up for the programme.
The NDC MP defeated the NPP’s Samuel Jonfiah to win the seat in the 2012 general elections.
He now faces stiff contest from two other parliamentary candidates in this year’s elections. They are Lawyer Ebenezer Kojo Kum of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Isaac Kweku Annan of the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
Michael Nyarko, one of the moderators for the debate, told the gathering that the MP was duly invited through various communication channels and assured them of his readiness to attend the debate.
The Western regional director of the NCCE could also not fathom why the MP did not attend the programme, stressing that the topics for discussion were issues of concern to the people.
“The people gathered here are those who are going to vote in the general elections and so I don’t know why the MP could not come to explain to the electorate why they should vote for him again. We have not heard from the MP why he did not attend,” he stated.
The Western regional director of the NCCE pointed out that the objectives of the programme were not achieved because of the absence of the incumbent MP who could have helped to explain to the people certain government decisions in the area and the country as a whole.
He appealed to the political parties to conduct their campaign peacefully and devoid of insults and name calling.
MP Reacts
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, the Ahanta West MP, Kwame Aboagye, who was a former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion, indicated that he never agreed to be part of the programme when the organisers approached him.
He remarked that “I told the organisers that I will not attend the programme and so they were aware.”
Candidates Speak
Ebenezer Kojo Kum, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate in the area, assured that the next NPP government would continue building capacity of the youth in the petroleum industry so that they secure jobs in the sector.
He disclosed that the NPP government would also offer scholarships to students to further their education, ensure transparent distribution and management of the premix fuel with active involvement of the fishermen.
Mr Kum stressed that the NPP government would pay royalties to the custodians of the land and lobby for employment quota for people in the area as well as continue building cold stores along the coastal communities in the country.
For his part, Isaac Kweku Annan, the CPP parliamentary candidate, stated that a CPP government would revamp collapsed state enterprises, promote co-operative farming by providing incentives to farmers and provide livelihood empowerment programme to the citizenry.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Agona-Nkwanta