The Pitch. INSET: Asenso-Boakye and other dignitaries opening the Okyem Aboagye Astro Turf Pitch at Ohwim.
An astro turf park has been posthumously named after the late former Bantama Member of Parliament (MP), Daniel Okyem Aboagye, in honour of his memory.
The current Bantama lawmaker, Francis Asenso-Boakye, who doubles as the Minister of Works and Housing, named the park after the deceased ex-lawmaker barely 24 hours after his passing to eternity.
Dubbed the ‘Okyem Aboagye Astro Turf Pitch’, the modern sporting facility is located at Ohwim in the Bantama Constituency. This is the fourth pitch constructed in the constituency by Asenso.
Asenso, who dethroned Okyem Aboagye during the 2020 New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary polls at Bantama, said despite their political rivalry, they remained united and worked together in the interest of the NPP.
“The late Okyem Aboagye was my four-year interval senior at the Secondary School, we went to the university and we both lived in America. We had a great relationship as brothers and friends,” Asenso said.
He also commended the late Okyem Aboagye for being a true party person, stressing that the deceased ex-MP worked to develop the party and Bantama, and therefore deserved to be honoured with a park.
“His demise is a big blow to the NPP,” Asenso lamented, and assured that he would do everything humanly possible to help the bereaved family to give a befitting burial and funeral rites for Okyem Aboagye.
Touching on the newly commissioned park, Asenso, who is also a former Deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, assured to lobby for more sports facilities to unearth and groom more sports talents in the constituency.
“Bantama has already been a brooding place for hatching big football personalities who have made it to the international level,” he said, and added that sports promotion is his priority.
Asenso charged the leadership of Ohwim and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to ensure maintenance of the facility.
The Bantama MP said there is a committee set to manage the usage of the pitch, stressing that monies accrued from users outside the Ohwim/Amanfrom area would be used for the park’s maintenance.
Sports Minister and Member of Parliament for Yagaba Kubore, Mustapha Yusif, who graced the event, said the Nana Akufo-Addo government has performed better in the provision of sports infrastructure than all the post-independence governments.
He chronicled “the completion of 151 astroturf pitches, building of ten 5,000-seating capacity Youth Resource Centres, renovation of major sports stadia, provision of structures for indoor games among other steps,” as some positive efforts by the NPP government to develop sports in the country.
The Sports Minister commended Asenso-Boakye for his excellent performance which is bringing much relief and joy to his people, and urged him to sustain his outstanding works.
The Kumasi Mayor, Samuel Payne, and other dignitaries such as chiefs, representatives from Ghana Gas Company Ltd and the NPP, in their respective short speeches, emphasised the need for proper maintenance of the pitch.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi