Mpohor MP and DCE in a hoax apprenticeship programme

It has now been established that an apprenticeship program instituted by the MP for Mpohor, Alex Kofi Agyekum, and DCE Ignatius Asaah Mensah, was a hoax as all the youths drawn from electoral areas in the constituency have returned home with little or no skill acquired.

Speaking to journalists in Mpohor, some of the aggrieved youths said the apprenticeship programme was inaugurated in 2017, and those fortunate to be selected were sent to Takoradi to acquire such skills as carpentry, masonry, hairdressing, dressmaking, among others, but the programme has been abrogated for lack of concern and funding.

The youths said under the apprenticeship program, the MP and DCE made them aware that their training cost will be fully paid, but months into the program such payments ceased, and trainees were left to fend for themselves, but could not cope with the harsh realities of living in a city.

The youths said, "we should not have left our villages where at least we could rely on family and relatives periodically for survival instead of being mobilized from the comfort of our villages only to be left on our own after the promise of helping us to complete the programme".

"These are things which can remind people to say that politicians and government appointees are liars, but not all of them are. You cannot ruin people’s lives like that by promising them what you cannot afford to do", an aggrieved youth said.

The youths said this goes contrary to the President's promise of free SHS which he has delivered to the delight of many people, and if people who are in the same political party use deception, we have to let Ghanaians know about it.

The youths said they were enraged by recent NPP commentaries on the district touting that the MP and DCE for Mpohor have undertaken many development projects in the constituency. The youths wondered why these NPP communicators who are just praise singers and hero-worshippers could not pinpoint such projects to let Ghanaians know about them.

The youths admitted that even though some untarred roads in the district are being gravelled, they questioned - “what benefit will the people derive from untarred and dusty roads in this age and era. When the rains start everything will be washed away and we return to our deplorable state again, calling it a misuse of government funds under the guise of development. It is in the Mpohor district where untarred and dusty roads are seen as a development in the 21st century".

David Cudjoe, a parent of an apprentice, said he was happy when the programme was initiated because he is a subsistence farmer and does not earn much to help the daughter, but sending these young people to Takoradi to learn a trade only for them to return to the village due to lack of support from the MP and DCE was unacceptable.

He said the President promised free SHS and it is being implemented to the admiration of many people in spite of the challenges. "I have not heard of any student being sent home because of school fees, and it is for the same reason that the MP and DCE should not deceive the people to give the government a bad name".

Asked why parents could not also assist their children during the programme, he said they did, but it was not enough, and that the larger cost was being paid through the MP and the District Assembly only for the payments to stop.

He said the youths are our future leaders and “it is a shame how a programme was inaugurated with fanfare only for it to collapse without any meaningful explanation from the MP and DCE. The youths are home now doing nothing and nobody is explaining why it failed".