Wassa-East organizes debate for Parliamentary Aspirants

Wassa-East opinion leaders in Atobiase and Daboase listened to manifestoes of the sitting MP and NDC aspirant and the NPP candidate for the December 07 elections to make informed choices.

The contestants, Mr Isaac Adjei Mensah, are seeking a third term, while his three-time Contender, Mr Wilson Arthur who is the DCE met at a town hall meeting to outline their plans.

The Forum was created by World University Services of Canada(WUSC)in collaboration with NCCE and Information Service Department(ISD) of Wassa East Assembly and organized by the Catholic Diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi-Justice and Peace Commission and the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference.

It brought the Parliamentary candidates together to account for their stewardship to the various stakeholders in the District under the theme "The Role of Parliament, Local Authorities and Participatory Governance for Community Development".

The first event took place at Atobiase last Friday on Nov.13.

In attendance were traditional leaders, identifiable groups, youth and women representatives.

Each contestant was given 30minutes to share his vision for the constituency and also answered a set of questions and follow up questions from the August audience.

The Atobiase event saw the MP taking the first slot followed by the DCE Contender.

The feedback after listening to the two Politicians placed the NPP Aspirant clearly ahead articulating a clearer vision and structured means of delivering outcomes in Education, Health, Local Economic Development, Youth and Women empowerment, Sports and Infrastructural development.

The MP hanged on cocoa roads he said to have executed, rural electricity power rolled out to over 100 communities, which some participants claim was factually untenable and award of scholarship to students.

Beyond that, the MP claimed he built eight CHPS Compounds and so many Nursing Quarters in Wassa East, which some participants said were not visible in the said communities.

The DCE said if he was given the opportunity, he would continue the model district project he began in 2017-that is creating more opportunities and prosperity for the people of Wassa East.

He could point at St Martin's Park standard professional football facility that has put Wassa East and Daboase on the Football Map in Ghana for the past three years. Asante Kotoko, Accra Hearts of Oak, Medeama, Karela, Elmina Sharks, Hasaacas, Dwarfs among other top teams played at Daboase and Skyy FC - his personal investment was arguably one of the best teams in Ghana.

Mr Arthur revealed that under his guidance, Wassa East District Football Association was established.

Local leagues for the third division and colts level would start in 2021. Some teams will be promoted by August 2021 to play second division football in Wassa East District.

To support this project, Adiembra Park, Abrodzewuram Park and Kwabaa Parks were upgraded and more parks would be upgraded to serve as match venues across the district.

In the area of Education, Mr Arthur shared data on the current situation as follows; KG 81 Public and 47 Private schools.

Primary 81 Public and 47 Private, JHS - 55 Public and 17 Private, Secondary one public and one private.

Mr Arthur promised to team up with Faith-Based Organizations(FBOs) and NGOs to expand KGs in all Communities to improve foundation for children before they entered primary schools.

He also promised to lobby for more Primary, JHS and Secondary schools if given the opportunity to serve them in Parliament.

The DCE said the population of Wassa East was in excess of 105,000 living in 380 settlements in 180 towns and villages, which demanded strategic planning to spread development to every community.

Mr Arthur revealed that UCC had agreed to establish a satellite campus at Daboase beginning next year and the Assembly under his leadership had facilities at Akutuase and Ntomirem Daboase ready to start TVET Skill Centres.

On Water provision, Mr Arthur disclosed that under his guidance Access Water4 All, an NGO would have rolled out provision of potable quality water to cover 90 percent of Wassa East people by the end of 2020.

Wassa East is now celebrated as the only district in Ghana likely to achieve 100 percent access to potable water.

In Wassa East, seven out of 10 adults are into Agriculture.

Cocoa productivity went up under Mr Arthur's personal interventions, including; masterminding the formation of over 300 Farmer societies into three Cooperatives with a population of 9,000 farmers.

This he explained made cocoa farming attractive in Wassa East, and COCOBOD and COCOlife enhanced their investments in the district with nursed cocoa seedlings distributed to Farmers increasing from 200,000 to 1,500,000.

For the first time in the history of the district, the DCE disclosed that cocoa Farmers enjoyed the maintenance of their cocoa spraying machines and had become a haven for People with disability under Me Arthur’s tenure.