Peter Kwaw Lartey, the ‘rasta man’ hoping to unseat Hawa Koomson in Kasoa

Ghana’s Parliament since its inception has not been home to men with dreadlocks popularly known as ‘rasta men’.

Though no rule bars men with such hairstyle from occupying one of the 275 seats in the house, never has there been an MP with dreadlocks.

But the status quo could witness a change if the people of Awutu Senya East Constituency vote for Peter Kwaw Lartey, who is standing on the ticket of the Great Consolidated People’s Party.

He is a ‘rasta man’, a musician and a relative of Dr Dan Lartey who is the founder and the GCPP and the propounder of the domestication policy.

He knows the odds are stacked against him as he belongs to a minor party but he is determined the break the stereotype of ‘rasta men’ not having a seat in Parliament as well as the GCPP not ever having a seat in parliament

“I want to be the first rasta man to go to parliament. We’ve not had people like me in the house and I want to break that stereotype. Rasta men are part of the country and I believe my presence in the house will encourage more people to be interested in politics”, he told www.ghanaweb.com

Peter Kwaw feels he is carrying the dream and wishes of a number of men in dreadlocks who by virtue of their looks are unable to access certain places and he is focused on breaking the cycle.

But that won’t come easy, he is going up against an influential member of the New Patriotic Party, Mavis Hawa Koomson who is the incumbent Member of Parliament for the area.

Lartey, though has a great deal of respect for the Special Initiatives Minister, he is convinced that he relates more with the people in the constituency and understands their needs more than the minister.

“Hon. Hawa Koomson has done well but she does not understand what the area people want because she does not live with us. I live in the area and understand them. When you mention Kasoa, people think of drugs, crime and other vices but we are more than that. There are good people here who with a little push will do great things” he said.

“Our sister Hawa Koomson is not in tune with the issues here so she’s not able to implement solutions to them but I am here. I have lived all life here and everyone knows me”.

Despite his positive appraisal for Hawa Koomson, there are two areas which he reckons the MP falls short. Security and sustainable jobs are the two issues Lartey has identified as Hawa Koomson’s failures.

“She has done her best but there are areas that she has failed to tackle as an MP even for her third term in office. She has not done her best in creating sustainable jobs and providing security for the people in the constituency. These are the areas I want to address,” he concluded