This, according to them, was the surest way to help reduce tension in the area before, during and after the December polls.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ipM1DClklmqTwuZ0DI0GuowDcQrAIeQ2″]They also want the candidates to pledge to ensuring access and quick disbursement of the Disability Fund and the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) from the assemblies to improve the quality of their lives.

On HIV/AIDS, they demanded concrete measures to be put in place to help attain the country’s HIV/AIDS target of reducing new infections and increasing access to anti-retroviral drugs by 90 per cent.

The programme attracted parliamentary candidates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), Civil Society organizations, traditional authorities, officials from the security agencies, students and the constituents.

The forum was on the theme, ” Election 2016: Promoting Issue Based Debate and Post-Election Accountability at the Constituency level,” and was jointly organised National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) and its partner organizations.

The parliamentary candidates, Kwasi Etu-Bonde of the NDC, George Mensah of the CPP and Nkangwah Mateerl Charles of the NPP, were present at the event. Two independent parliamentary candidates in the constituency failed to turn up for the programme.

The aspirants pledged their commitment to ensuring a peaceful electioneering campaign and expressed readiness to accept the outcome of the elections.

An officer at CODEO, Nana Hagan, said it was the desire of CODEO and its partners to deepen the country’s democracy, hence the initiative to create a platform that will make the 2016 campaign based on pertinent issues.

He called on the candidates to carry out their campaigns devoid of insults and intimidation of political opponents.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Four parliamentary candidates in the constituency  who were present for the debate included Samuel Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the incumbent MP and the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Dr. Stephen Nana Ato Arthur, the Convention People’s Party’s (CPP) Rose Austin Tsenadu, and John Sterling of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP).

The debate, which was organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), was aimed at educating the electorates on the vision of the candidates.

This, they said, would allow the constituents to make an informed decision in the upcoming elections.

The debate, which covered issues such as people with disabilities, agriculture, HIV/AIDS, unemployment, teenage pregnancy and education among others, was attended by chiefs, the aged, students and some identifiable groups.

The Chief of Eguafo-Breman, Nana GyanDadzie I, who chaired the occasion, entreated the politicians to say no to tribal politics which he warned can lead to violence.

The Debate
On education, the PPP’s parliamentary candidate, John Sterling, argued that, education needs to be free at a certain stage.

“Education from Kindergarten to SHS should be free. We have to make sure that, there is a teacher in each classroom. We have to make sure that the tools the children need are there. We in PPP will make sure that every school has a canteen so that every child will get hot food to eat. We will make sure each School has a Library, so that if the child gets homework, he can access it to learn.”

He further added that, under a PPP government, each school will have its playing ground.

On unemployment, NPP’s Parliamentary Candidate and incumbent MP, Dr. Stephen Nana Ato Arthur, accused the ruling NDC government of causing a high rate of unemployment in Ghana.

“There is no job in Ghana. The economy is weak. When a hairdresser wants to work, there is no light. When you complete school, you do not get work to do. Why will the unemployment rate in Ghana not be high? In the NCCE Report, Education, Health and Employment are the main things Ghanaians say they want. If NPP comes to power, the perennial power outage will be a thing of the past.”

Dr. Arthur further added that, the NPP will create jobs through the one District one Factory policy.

On people with disabilities (PWDs), NDC’s Parliamentary Candidate, Samuel Atta Mills, said that, he is the best Candidate who understands this problem because he has a child in a similar situation, and therefore knows what PWDs need.

“I have a thirty one year old child who is disabled, I understand it very well. When a person with disability goes out, people laugh at them which hurt. I know this because I have a child like who has gone through it and so I will not sit down for people to go through it. We in Ghana call these People with Disabilities, but I want to call them Special Needs People. I will fight that they get group homes. A house built purposely for them to live in as groups.”

On HIV/AIDS, CPP’s Parliamentary Candidate, Rose Tsenadu, argued that, HIV/AIDS should be spoken about often because it will compel people to check their status.

This, she further argued, will prevent cases of unintentional spread of the virus.

“We would organize periodic screenings so that you can tell the Doctor or Nurse anything that is worrying you. If we don’t educate ourselves about HIV/AIDS, people may not know they have it, and so may hide it. They may not go to the Hospital to know their status. This is how Mother to Child transmission happens.”

Peace
To ensure peace before, during and after the elections, the Parliamentary Candidates united for peace.

In one voice, they said “Ghana belongs to us all and that, we should accommodate each other, irrespective of the political party one supports.”

Population size
The population of Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipal, according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, is 144,705 representing 6.6 percent of the region’s total population. Males constitute 48.2 percent and females represent 51.8 percent. Sixty four percent of the population is rural.

Parliamentary history
The KEEA has traditionally been an NDC seat since 1992, until 2004, when Nduom won it for the CPP because the NPP didn’t field a candidate through some form of alliance.

Nduom did not contest in 2008 because he led the party as their Flagbearer. The seat thus fell to the NFC’s Dr. J.S. Annan in 2008.

Dr. Annan also lost in 2012 to the NPP’s Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, due to some internal wrangling in the NDC, following the return of Dr. Ato Quarshie, who went independent after losing the party’s primary, splitting the NDC’s vote.

The four leading parliamentary candidates in the 2016 race, are very optimistic of winning the KEEA seat in the upcoming polls.

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By: Akwasi Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Parliamentary debate held in KEEA [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The moderators for the debate allotted six minutes to the MP to answer three questions posed to him by the constituents, but Mr. Samuel Gidi, the Parliamentary Candidate for the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) disagreed with them, insisting that the moderators were giving undue advantage to the incumbent to campaign.

The situation worsened when the MP passed a comment that he wondered why “half-baked graduates” did not understand issues.

The MP’s comment drew massive protest from the supporters and sympathisers of Mr. Gidi thus, compelling Mr. Andrew Acquah, the District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), after consultation with the Police and other security personnel at the venue, to halt the debate.

The debate, held at the Daboase Community Centre, on Thursday, in the Western Region, was to provide a platform for the parliamentary candidates in the area to interact and share their vision with their constituents.

Mr. Acquah  in an interview said that initially the moderators wanted members of the public to ask the candidates general questions, but some of them asked specific questions directed at the MP; therefore, they decided to allow him six minutes to answer the questions without any prejudice to the rest of the candidates.

The debate was jointly organised by the NCCE and the Coalition of Domestic Election Observes (CODEO) in partnership with the Ghana News Agency, Citi FM and EIB Network.

It was supported by the European Union and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).

The debate was held under the theme: “Election 2016: Promoting Issue-based Debate and Post-Election Accountability.”

Mr. Adjei-Mensah, also a Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, represented the  National Democratic Congress, while Mr. Wilson Arthur, was the New Patriotic Party’s representative.

Earlier in his welcome address, Mr. Acquah, explained the objectives of the debate  and urged the electorate to co-exist peacefully irrespective of their political orientation.

He also urged the political parties to campaign devoid of violence and personality attacks.

Mr. Adusei Baaye, the Western and Central Regional Coordinator for CODEO in charge of the debate, said since 2004, it had been organising parliamentary debates in the various constituencies across the country.

These were to highlight policy issues affecting marginalised groups, especially women, the youth and Persons with Disability, in order to shape campaign messages and address pertinent concerns, he said.

The parliamentary candidates answered questions on job creation, mass spraying of the cocoa, fertilizer distribution programme, oil and gas governance, inadequate health and education facilities in the area and other pertinent issues affecting the progress of the citizenry.

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Source: GNA

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A new photo of the two that has gone viral on social media shows Obuobia Darko-Opoku of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Tina Mensah of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) facing each other and holding hands in a public prayer.

[contextly_sidebar id=”e4wrtGh5RtXGtdk9MtMVnDN4sVU3qEhi”]Citifmonline.com sources say the photo was taken at the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church at Mendskrom in the constituency on Sunday [October 30].

The two were invited by the Church to participate in its annual harvest.

The heated campaign in the constituency seemed to have caused some enmity betweeen the two.

Both parties have been axtively seeking to secure influence in the constituency in the run-up to the December polls.

Recently, supporters of the two candidates engaged in a face-off when loyalists to Tina Mensah tried to stop Obuobia Darko-Opoku from donating an ambulance to the Gas South Municipal Hospital.

According to Tina Mensah, Obuobia was taking advantage of her position as the Deputy Director of the Ghana Free Zones Board to undertake such government gestures and touting them as her personal projects.

A parliamentary debate organized by National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with support from the Coalition for Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO) and the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) for the candidates of the constituency had to be rescheduled last week after Tina Mensah boycotted it, alleging that the questions had been leaked to Obuobia.

The Weija-Gbawe constituency has been identified as one of the key constituencies to watch in the upcoming elections.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post #GhElections: Obuobia-Darko, Tina Mensah unite in peace prayer [Photo] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.