Re: Change Joe Gidisu Or We Risk Our Presidential Votes.

The executive Committee of the Central Tongu constituency of NDC wish to respond to a distortion of facts that has been posted on Ghana web by one Afari Jones captioned “Change Joe Gidisu or We Risk Our Presidential Votes”. We want to draw the attention of the general public to the fact that this boy is mischievous. The group he claims he is the national coordinator for is not known in the constituency and can only be known to him and his pay masters alone. In an earlier article he posted on myjoyonline.com, he claimed he was a former TEIN president, and the institution he was the TEIN president in is known to him and his collaborators alone. In the new article he posted on Ghana web, he is no longer the former TEIN president, but now the national coordinator of a faceless group called Rural Youth Platform. We want the general public to judge if he is anybody with credibility who needed to be taken serious.

To begin with, we want to state that this boy is not a member of the party in the constituency and is not also a registered voter in the constituency. We challenge him to prove to the general public the branch in the constituency that he is a member and the polling station he registered as a voter and voted in the last election

Secondly, we do not know the basis for his research that shows we risk losing presidential vote if Hon. Joe Gidisu is allowed to run on the ticket of the party. In one breath, he suggests that the NDC government is achieving a lot but Hon. Joe Gidisu who is a cabinet member and part of that decision leading to what he has seen as the good performance of the government is a failure. In another breath, he seems to suggest that Hon. Joe will win the election but the votes of the president will reduce. What kind of an ill informed argument. What flaws his argument is that he has failed to realize the fact that it is the same freedoms guaranteed by the 1992 constitution for all Ghanaian that has given him the opportunity to freely express his views the way he is doing now has allowed other Ghanaian the opportunity to take part in any event opened to all provided they qualify. We are amazed that he is calling for the restriction of Honorable Joe Gidisu from contesting a position that is opened to all Ghanaian who are registered NDC members.

Thirdly, he has forgotten that the MP is a member of parliament on the ticket of the NDC. That the NDC has her own sets of rules and guidelines as to how people are elected to run on the ticket of the party. That the opportunity is opened to all paid up members with good standing and Hon. Joe Gidisu is one. People like him support the party with their mouths and are good at playing mischief and ready to dent had won reputation of others for their personal interest. We do not know if he is aware that for the past eight years that the party has been in opposition, it was Hon. Joe Gidisu that supported the party financially, materially and morally, even in other constituencies to bring the NDC to where it is today. There are people like Jones whose voices were lost when the party was in opposition and are now being heard after others brazed the storm to bring this party to power. Jones, we guest is fronting for certain mischievous personalities who think they can reap where they did not sow. We want to caution such persons to wait for the actual time and present themselves to the delegates to make their choice.

We want to tell Jones that, it is only the four delegates each from all the eighty one branches in the constituency called to a constituency delegates conference that have the mandate to decide who picks the ticket of the party. We advise him to respect the constitution of the party. He must know that the national executive has not yet opened nomination for candidates in constituencies where there are sitting MPs. We also want to inform him that over the years it is these same delegates that have exercised their judgment to elect who runs on the ticket of the party and we are sure that when the opportunity is opened for that purpose, they will do same and whoever they pick is what the party will go with if it is approved by the national executive. We do not think Afari Jones and his group has ever gone round to tell the delegates what decision they should make. He is ignorant of the fact that since he is not a registered voter he has lost that mandate to tell anybody from they area who to vote for. There are many citizens of the area who live outside the constituency but for their patriotism, risked their lives and resources to come down to register in the constituency. They came to vote on both the 7th and the 28th December elections. It very sad he is painting the picture that he has campaigned and voted for the party but is being ignored by the MP. We want to state a gain that he is not a registered voter in the constituency and did not vote in the constituency in any of the elections that brought the NDC to power.

Fourthly, we want to state on authority that there has never been any MP of the area that has brought development to the constituency like what Hon. Joe Gidisu did. We challenge Jones to mention which of the MPs and the projects they brought. We can say that it is during his tenure of office that Adidome Township road is being tarred, Mafi kumase township road being tarred, several under trees schools provided with classroom blocks, Adidome SHS provided with a six unit classroom, a school bus, and currently awarded for construction a kitchen and a dinning hall and Mafi Kumase SHS with a two storey boys’ dormitory, a bridge over River Aklakpa at both Mafi Agorve and Mepe Dadome to open up the area. Several virgin roads in the area has seen engineering for the first time, a bridge awarded for construction over river Tordor to link Mafi Kumase through Mafi Avedo to Yorkitikpo to open up that area too and a bridge constructed at Avadre over River Tordze to link the three districts of Nort Tongu , Adaklu Anyigbe and the Akatsi which are of great economic benefits to the people. The president during his recently tour of the flooded areas in Adaklu Waya visited that bridge and those journalists on the trip with the president saw it and can testify. Hon. Joe Gidisu has helped a lot of the people from the area to acquire higher education with sponsorship from his share the DACF. Currently from 2009 to 2011, he has sponsored fifty five students worth GHC 23,000.00. He has on several occasions given assistance to needy students in the two SHS in the constituency. He has also adopted many children that are no relative of his to acquire education. There are currently a boy and a girl who he has taken care of and the girl is in her final year in Dambai College of education and the boy is in JHS two at Mepe DA JHS. We want to tell Jones that since job is his problem, he should gather his group and the MP will link them to financial facility to go into dry season tomatoes and other vegetables production. The area has the land and the river Tordze and Volta have the water for the project to produce tomatoes to stop tomatoes sellers from Ghana traveling to Bourkina Fasso for that commodity, now that there are good roads linking the area. Even in the developed world, people with PhDs are in to agriculture and they are making it. He should stop bragging himself and spares us our ears with his HND that will not get him anywhere.

Finally, we call on Afari Jones to learn to respect elderly people and be civil in his utterances to them. Hon. Joe Gidisu has contributed a lot to the growth and development of Tongu since he was the GNAT regional secretary at Ho. Through him many people from the area are teachers today, earning their livelihood and also contributing to the development of our dear nation. As MP, a lot has become nurses and teachers through him. We think if he has any personal score to settle with the MP, he should be bold and say it and stop hiding behind his alleged non performance of Hon. Joe Gidisu to front for people who are interested in the seat. Note, when Joseph went to Egypt, the Pharaoh at the time loved him and made him a prime minister. This prompted Joseph to invite his relatives to Egypt, but after the death of that pharaoh and Joseph, the Israelites saw the real side of the Egyptians. A word to the wise is enough. Think about.

Agbenyo Samuel Kofi,

Secretary.

0243404557