Residents in the Gomoa Central Constituency in the Central Region have called for what they describe as developments due them, as Assembly elections gears up.
This situation has brought in new faces to join the race, majority of them the education sector, particularly teachers.
One of such contestant is John Otabil, a Basic school teacher at Gomoa Dahom who is contesting as the Assembly Member for the Gomoa Acheasi Electoral Area.
Deemed as the best candidate among the lot, Mr. John Otabil said his vision of going to the Assembly is to solicit for development of his area.
He mentioned electrification, access to portable water, inaccessible roads, poor drainage system, teenage pregnancy and low academic standard among students as some of the major problems facing the area.
He said his priority, when giving the nod, would be to address the problem of low academic standard and teenage pregnancy by engaging parents and opinion leaders, as well as the youth in finding a lasting solution to the menace.
He revealed that as part of the solution, he has already contacted a Non-Governmental Organization, Campaign for Female Education [CAMFED] which is currently sponsoring the education of brilliant but needy students in the area, four of them given scholarship to study in various tertiary institutions in the country.
The situation is not different at Gomoa Ekwamkrom where residents have appealed to the Government through the District Assembly, to as a matter of urgency, construct a bridge over the Akora River to enable them access their farms.
Led by an aspiring Assembly Member for the Ekwamkrom|Jukwa Electoral Area, Mr. Romeo Asare, they said the absence of a bridge over the river makes it difficult for them to go to their farms anytime it rains.
Mr. Romeo Asare disclosed that over ninety percent of the people have their farms across the river and have to rush home anytime they sense the clouds forming, for fear of being stuck to their farms in case of a rainfall.
According to him, farmers have to cross the river with a make-shift canoe, which he said poses serious risk to them, especially women and children in case of an emergency.
A farmer himself, Mr. Asare hinted that the situation remains a major concern to the people and therefore when given the nod as the Assembly Member, his priority project would be to lobby the Assembly for the construction of a bridge over the river, despite other challenges such as the poor nature of the major road in the town, among others confronting the area.
On his part, an Enterpreneur and aspiring Assembly Member for Gomoa Acheasi Electoral Area, Joseph Kwame Mensah said the area abound with problems such as unemployment, school drop outs, teenage pregnancy, lack of development projects and other social amenities.
He said his vision of contesting for the position as Assembly Member is to help empower the youth by using the position to lobby and liasse with other Non-Governmental Organizations and Agencies to provide skilled training and employment for the youth.
He disclosed that though not yet voted to power, he is already networking with some organizations and institutions, as well as indigenes of the area living in the Diaspora to come on board and contribute to the development of the area.
He later expressed optimism of winning the election to help the Gomoa Acheasi electoral attain the developments that it deserves.
A retired educationist and aspiring Assembly Member for Ekwamkrom|Jukwa Electoral Area, Mr. Allan Young Sam also noted that youth development is his major concern, and therefore assured that he would do whatever possible that he can to ensure that youth of the area are empowered, by engaging them in all form of employment opportunities.
He has therefore appealed to the electorates to rally behind him to help achieve this vision
In another development, an aspiring Assembly Member for Gomoa Ekroful|Akropong Electoral Area also in the Gomoa West Constituency and Assistant Head teacher of the Salvation Army Basic School at Agona Swedru, Mr. Kingsford Buabeng has said that provision of accessible, quality education to the youth remains his major priority.
Already, he is said to have lobbied some Non-Governmental Organization that have supplied customized exercise book to his school and students in his electoral area.
An author of an Integrated Science text book, Mr. Buabeng told Ghananews.com in an interview that despite his vision of providing quality education for children in his area, the area is also abound with problems such as teenage pregnancy, which he blamed on high level of poverty among the people.
He further mentioned bad road network in the area, coupled with limited social amenities such as like recreational centre, public place of convenience and water, as some of the problems facing the area.
Pursuing Masters Degree at the University of Cape Coast, Mr. Buabeng noted that he will put his expertise as an educationist to bare to make Central Region especially Ekroful and Akropong take up its rightful place as the citadel of education in the country.
By: Robert Ayanful