I want to work closely with you so that we can solve problems together - Bawumia to Ga Mantse

The Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has assured the Ga Mantse King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II and the Ga Traditional Council of his desire to work closely with them as President so that challenges within the Ga State and Ghana can be resolved together.

As part of his campaign, Dr. Bawumia paid a courtesy call to the Ga Mantse and the Ga Traditional Council, to thank him for his counsel and also share with the Council, the policies he has been outlining to Ghanaians.

Addressing the Ga Mantse and the Council, Dr. Bawumia outlined a number of problems he said are bedevilling the Ga State, which he expressed his desire to work closely with the Ga Mantse and the Ga Traditional Council to address as President.

Among the problems, Dr. Bawumia noted, were the disadvantages associated with playing host to Ghana's capital city, such as land, limited opportunities as well as a decline of the Ga language.

"The Ga State hosts the capital of Ghana. Because of that, the rest of Ghana is here which has implications for the Ga State, which we have to take account of its policy," Dr. Bawumia said.

"Because of that, demand for land here is much higher than anywhere in the country. This means that indigenes do not have access to affordable land. That is a major issue we have to deal with."

"Secondly, educational opportunities. Jobs is another issue for the youth. Because everybody is here, the schools have limited places for the people and limited jobs too."

Dr. Bawumia also spoke about how the Ga language is declining, and how he intends to address it as President.

"The language is another problem. Most of us who are here can survive without speaking Ga. So that leads to a decline in the language. We have to make sure that Ga is taught in our schools to protect the language. Otherwise, it is going to be very costly."

Dr. Bawumia also spoke about issues of land, which, he said, the Ga state has with the government.

"We have to resolve these issues. And I am promising you that as President, I'll sit down with you and we will resolve these issues."

"Hosting the capital should not be to your disadvantage. But a lot of the development is coming to your disadvantage."

The Ga Mantse welcomed Dr. Bawumia's proposal, saying that his solutions are in line with theirs.

Dr. Bawumia also outlined a number of his policies to the Ga Traditional Council, including his proposed policy to amend the Chieftaincy Act to return more powers to traditional rulers.