Constituency organises forum on national issues

Hohoe, July 3, GNA - Mr. Prince James Hayibor, Member of Parliament (MP) for Hohoe North on Sunday remarked that the unsympathetic economic policies being pursued by government transcended geo-political and constituency boundaries.

He said the harsh economic situation was widespread countrywide and "not targeted at supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) alone. The situation was even worse at New Patriotic Party (NPP) constituencies and strongholds".

Mr Hayibor, who was speaking at a constituency forum to address pertinent national and domestic issues at Hohoe said the harsh economic milieu was pressuring everybody across the country was an attestation of the failure of the NPP government.

He said the Parliamentary attendance has confirmed the situation as PMs had to sometimes sacrifice or swerve proceedings in the House to engage in consultancy work or financially rewarding ventures in order to balance.

The Member of Parliament informed the Constituents that the preoccupation of an PM was to facilitate legislation, lobby for projects and undertake minute developments with support from prescribed financial resources.

He said the District Assemblies are tasked by legislation to tackle the bulk of developmental needs in the district and therefore entreated the people to redirect their developmental concerns and complaints to the assembly for redress.

Mr Hayibor urged the participants to monitor the expenditure of the Hohoe Assembly and demand accountability since developmental resources for the area belonged to all, and not one person. He advised the people to form co-operatives to qualify them for the disbursement of the Millennium Challenge Accounts (MCA) saying, "it was not an NPP fund but money for all Ghanaians". Mr. Hayibor noted that committing over 230 billion cedis towards the construction of a Presidential Palace was uncalled for when there were inadequate job avenues for the teeming youth. On the Representation of the Peoples Amendment Law (ROPAL), he said it was a tool government intended to use to rig the forth-coming general elections in 2008 but pledged that all minority parties would resist it to the letter.

Mr Elliot Akototse, Hohoe North Constituency Chairman wondered how the ROPAL was going to address the issues of dual citizenship, when it was, the basis for the disqualification of a prospective candidate for a ministerial appointment.

He asked how was the Electoral Commission, which was already battling with logistical problems, be able to check and contain the situation when there were several Ghanaians in the Diaspora possessing dual citizenship statuses.

Mr. Akototse urged the people to unite and fight for a municipal status than remaining petty.

Meanwhile, vitriolic personal attacks, which sometimes degenerated into name-calling, cat-cats and booing nearly marred the open forum session as some aggrieved NDC party supports posed their questions. They alleged unfulfilled promises, money laundering, sidelining among others.