The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for the Essikadu-Ketan Constituency in the Western Region, Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has observed that the constituency is currently in what she describes as Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and will need sheer tactfulness alas it dies.
She claims Essikadu-Ketan has for the past 16 years been stifled of much-needed development and as a result has been left for dead.
“For the past sixteen years, Essikadu-Ketan has been voting one way. I’m asking, what is there to show for all these long years,” she wondered when she met members of the Western Region Press Corps to formally announce her candidature.
Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah indicated that “I come from this constituency. In fact, I have very strong family ties in this constituency. I have been to the nook and cranny of Essikadu-Ketan. I’ve been to Ahanta Abaasa, Mampong, Kansaworado, Essikadu, Ketan, Enoe, Fijai you name them. I have not come across a single project that the MP has done. It is only an old library I’ve seen renovated”.
“So, there is nothing! Zero, absolutely nothing to show,” she insisted.
She, therefore, questioned whether there is any genuine reason why Joe Ghartey should be given the mandate to represent Essikadu-Ketan again as that will mean mortgaging the otherwise good fortunes of the constituency for the next four years and insisted “in the end there will be no benefit”.
“We have had one person who has been in charge of us for 16 solid years, who’s asking for another four years, who can’t even account for what he’s done in the last sixteen years. So, if you can’t tell me what you’ve done in the past sixteen years and you come to stand in front of me that we should give you another four years… tell me what you can do in four years that you couldn’t do in those sixteen years
“So, the question is that are we still going to sit in Essikado-Ketan and say that for me I’m an NPP or NDC and still vote for our own disadvantage?” she asked.
She dared the over 30 journalists gathered at the Western Region Press Center, where she held her meeting, to show her any project that they have covered or heard that was engineered by the MP, Joe Ghartey, for the past 16 years.
After a deafening silence, Dr. Grace Ayensu-Danquah then threw a challenge to the MP to tell Essikadu-Ketan what single project he has engineered as an MP.
“I, as a constituent, will also be interested in the answer he will give. And I must say I’m ready to debate him on his stewardship for the past 16 years.”
Despite the claim that Joe Ghartey has done nothing for Essikadu-Ketan as an MP, he continues to win the parliamentary seat.
For example, in the 2016 parliamentary elections Joe Ghartey defeated the NDC’s parliamentary candidate with a 9,000-vote margin.
But Dr. Ayensu-Danquah, who is a US trained surgeon and philanthropist, said perhaps Joe Ghartey has not met a parliamentary candidate as credible and with such passion to succeed as hers.
The Essikadu-Ketan Member of Parliament, who doubles as the Railways Development Minister, has been going unopposed anytime there is a parliamentary primary for the NPP ever since Essikadu-Ketan was carved out of Sekondi.
3news.com sources within the party wonder how anyone will be able to contest and defeat Joe Ghartey in the party’s primaries when the party office in the constituency is in the MP’s house.
“Where we have our constituency office used to be a garage for our MP. Assuming anyone apart from our MP wants to meet party members and that person wants to contest. Imagine what will happen. Our MP has become so powerful that if you are not careful…”
By Eric Yaw Adjei|3news.com|Ghana