New survey ranks Kofi Boah best MP in Western region

An online survey conducted by a non-profitable advocacy group in the Western Region – Western Journal – has rated the Members of Parliament for Ellembele, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, Tarkwa Nsuaem, George Mireku Duker and Joseph Cudjoe as the top three most ‘impressive’ MPs in the Western Region of Ghana.

Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah polled 32.35 percent out of a group score of 1827, to top the list of 27 Members of Parliament in the Western and Western North Regions. Second on the list is George Mireku Duker, who polled 15.54 percent followed by Effia Member of Parliament Joseph Cudjoe of the group score. The three retained their respective ranks, on the list for the Western Region exclusively.

In the Western North Region, Member of Parliament for Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai, who is also the Regional Minister, Kinglsey Aboagye- Gyedu ranked first, with a percentage score of 15.38 of the group score. Parliamentary representative for Sefwi Wiawso Constituency, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie ranked second in the Western North Region, with a percentage score of 4.65.

Member of Parliament for Shama, and Mpohor, (Dr.) Ato Panford and Alexander Kofi Agyekum respectively were last but one, and last, from the bottom of the list with a percentage score of 0.27, each.

The survey, according to Western Journal, was conducted online for over a month (Jan 1- 30, 2020). At the end of the poll, a total of 398 respondents were recorded.

Each respondent had a one-time opportunity to vote for his or her ‘most impressive’ MP over the past three years. They were asked to rate an MP on a scale of 5, where 1 was poor, and 5 being best.

Performance areas

To gain some appreciation into the perception of respondents for their individual and/or collective ratings for the parliamentarians, a checklist of predefined performance areas were introduced into the survey tool.

“Beyond these ratings for the MPs, respondents were asked to determine among a set of predefined performance areas which influenced their ratings. In simple terms, the areas they were most impressed with the MPs performance,” they noted in their published report.

The performance areas were; Parliamentary Contributions, Contribution to political party and constituency, Constituency engagement and feedback, and Media engagement.

From the survey, most respondents were highly expectant and impressed with the MPs’ contribution to the development of the area (with 305 points out of a total of 1,430 responses recorded). Other factors such as contribution to political party and constituency affairs, and constituency engagement and feedback were rated 2nd and 3rd most critical areas (with a score of 288 and 287 respectively).

“Surprisingly, the core functions of a legislator, Parliamentary contributions ranked 4th, (with a score of 277) out of the five performance areas. It is important to note that, despite the rankings of the MPs in this survey per their score to the group, there were some varying individual ratings in some performance areas."

“For example, Ellembele MP’s score of 32.35% of the group score, came with an 88.1% and 87.13% score in terms of his contribution to development, and constituency engagement, respectively. These were his best two performances out of the five areas,” the report said.