Beyond the rhetoric, Ledzokuku must vote to retain Hon Sena

By Nii Ayi Anteh

As December 7th approaches, Ledzokuku must once again join the rest of the country to elect a representative at the Parliament of Ghana, a chief advocate of development for our beloved Constituency. Having critically weighed the pros and cons, I am of the firm conviction that we stand to gain tremendously as a Constituency if we vote to maintain our current MP, Hon Benita Sena Okity-Duah and support her through yet another term.

Aside the high possibility of being appointed as a substantive Minister because she has so far done very well as a Deputy Minister at two Ministries, we will be having an MP who has already learnt the rudiments of the Parliamentary work and need no more time to hit the ground running for the good of Ledzokuku in her next term.

Unlike the UK where Parliamentary Studies is taught at the Masters and Undergraduate levels as a full Module for Politics students, we don’t have that in Ghana and new MPs struggle to get their bearings in the august House. Any new MP coming to represent our Constituency will find him/herself as a “back-bencher” in Parliament and will take months to “find his/her way around”, before knowing where to pass or not to pass to work in the interest of Ledzokuku.

Regrettably, we have made that mistake over and over again by repeatedly changing our MPs. It hasn’t helped us, and it is about time we stopped it by voting to retain Hon Sena Okity-Duah.

Happily, my call for us to retain Hon Benita Sena Okity-Duah is not done out of mere well-wishing for her or without any basis. Our MP, since she assumed office on 7th January 2013 has achieved so much for the constituency and she is arguably the best MP we have seen in our Constituency in the 4th Republic.

Her advocacy for the Constituency, her excellent human relationship with the Constituents and her passion to be of service to Ledzokuku are without blemish.

With the collaboration and support of other stakeholders, the people of the Ledzokuku has now said good bye to the perennial water crisis that we have been facing prior to the assumption of office of Hon Benita Sena Okity-Duah.

Again, major roads, including the Bush Road and parts of the Teshie Main road have all been fixed under her tenure. Currently ongoing is the asphalting of over 18km of roads within the Ledzokuku Constituency. Through her instrumentality, the Teshie Link Road which has been the headache of past MPs and the people of Teshie for decades is under construction.

Further, under Hon Sena’s tenure, a new overpass has been constructed around Martey Tsuru and commissioned by H.E the President.

There have been major improvements in infrastructure in the Ledzokuku Constituency across the various sectors under the leadership of Hon Sena. In the Education sector, more School block Units have been added to the existing ones at Teshie Presby Secondary School, Teshie Technical Training School and other areas.

More are also under construction including a modern Masalchi for the Zongo Community in Ledzokuku. Under the Health Sector, Hon Sena has ensured that a befitting Cholera Unit has been built to augment the services at the LEKMA Hospital and a new Laboratory has also been done for the Teshie Community Clinic. Again, she has ensured that a CHPS Compound has been built at Teshie Camp 2 for the Constituents.

The strength of Hon Benita Sena Okity-Duah over the years has been her relationship with her Constituents; she takes great joy in helping people.

And that has resulted in her massive achievements under her social intervention initiatives. She has supported many of the Youth of Teshie to secure employment in many establishments and has also financially supported the education of many. Her support for the women in Ledzokuku has been very evident. At Teshie Nshorna, she has built sheds for the fish-mongers to protect them against the harsh weather conditions.

At Teshie Tsoeshie, she has provided roofing for the entire market and guided many of the women in the Constituency to secure loans to support their businesses. Through her instrumentality, the age-old Lascala Market is being reconstructed and modernized. Hon Sena has also seen to the drilling of boreholes across the Constituency to augment the Water provision, notable among the beneficiary Communities is Martey Tsuru.

To improve Sanitation, Hon Sena has provided tricycles within the Constituency to cart rubbish free of charge for the Constituents and has also ensured that many Public Places of Convenience have been built within the Constituency. Under Education, Hon Sena has supported various institutions within the Constituency, including the Teshie Presby Secondary School, Teshie Technical School, Teshie Nursing Training School, and many pre-secondary schools with Computers, desks, beds, books among others.

Since 2012, Hon Sena has been organizing and funding Free Holiday Classes for JHS Students within the Constituency and has always found the time to meet and encourage the BECE Candidates before they sit for their examinations.

Her Free Health Screening and registration of Constituents under the NHIS too cannot go unmentioned. So far over, thousands of the Constituents have benefited. Hon Sena has also supported the various Hospitals within the Constituency with many drugs and equipment to enhance their delivery to the people.

Under the leadership of Hon Sena, so much has been done, but there is still much that she can do for the Ledzokuku Constituency, hence my call for all of us to support her for yet another term so that she can deliver more.

She lobbied to get the Teshie Link Road to be started, and she needs to work tirelessly in her second term to get it completed. She has managed to get an allocation for the building of a modern Community SHS for Ledzokuku and I think it’s best for her see to its completion. As a Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, she knows the status of the proposed mini harbor for Teshie and she is the best person who can work for it to be done in her second term.

Many have benefited in terms of Education and Employment and I believe more can still be done should we support her to secure another mandate in December. She has empowered many women and youth within Ledzokuku, and her second term will see many more benefiting through her many initiatives.

With all that has been done, all that is being done and all that will be done, I believe so well that Ledzokuku will be the ultimate winner if we rally behind Hon Benita Sena Okity-Duah and vote massively for her on the 7th.

And of course, our MP has achieved all the above, and can achieve more with the direction, guidance, support and benevolence of the President, H.E John Mahama and we can achieve our collective ambition of seeing our Constituency developed to the next level if we vote massively for him too.

Let us join the majority in Ledzokuku; let’s be on the winning side. Let us think of more development for our Constituency and vote to retain Hon Sena as our MP, and President Mahama as our President. Like the clarion call says, “no abaabasee”.

The writer is the Deputy Constituency Secretary for the NDC in the Ledzokuku Constituency. Writer's e-mail: gentlepope@yahoo.co.uk