In the Upper East Region, two incumbent members of parliament came out of the primaries seriously bruised.
They are the sitting MP for Pusiga, Mr. Simon Atingban Akunye who was defeated by Hajia Laadi Ayii Ayamba, the only female aspirant out of the 31 aspirants who contested in the nine constituencies.
Hajia Ayamba, a Deputy National Propaganda Secretary of the NDC, polled 89 votes to ward off the challenge from three other male contenders, namely Messrs Aboko Akudugu, George Bambill Azungah and Simon Akunye who polled 81, 47 and 38 votes respectively.
The other sitting MP who suffered defeat was Mr. Timothy Ataboadey Awontirum who polled 74 as against the winner, Lawyer James Agalga, who garnered 123 votes in the Builsa North Constituency poll.
Messrs George Abavelim, the Presiding Member of the Builsa District Assembly, Philip A. Azaikoba and Seth Alafa who also contested the Builsa North seat obtained 42, 22 and six votes in that order.
Two aspirants were acclaimed. They are Mr. Cletus Apul Avoka, the Majority leader and MP for Zebilla Constituency while Mr. Roger Abolumbisa, a former MP was retained unopposed for the Builsa South constituency.
In the Bongo constituency, the man whose name rhymes with that of the constituency, Mr. Albert Abongo thrashed the Regional Secretary of the party, Donatus Akamugri. Abongo polled 132 votes as against 70 won by Akamugir. The other two contenders in the race for the Bongo seat were Mr Charles Adongo Bawa-Duah who polled 30, and Ministry of Energy spokesperson, Edward Abambire Bawa who had 115 votes.
In the Talensi constituency, five term MP and Minister of Information, John Tia Akologu secured the nod to pursue a sixth term parliamentary slot when he defeated four other contenders by polling 186 votes. The other contenders comprising Messrs Benson Baba Tongo, a former President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, Edward Adimazoya Akolgo, Simon Nabia and Peter Tobil Kapeog had 89, 21, five and four votes respectively.
In the next door Nabdam Constituency, Moses Asaga sailed smoothly to shore when he polled 121 as against 37 garnered by his only contender Mr. Sebig Martin Dittoh.
In the Bolgatanga constituency, the sitting MP Emmanuel Akolbire Opam-Brown dismissed his challenger, Mr. Mathew Akayigre Adombire. Mr. Opam-Brown polled 398 votes while his contender had 103.
The MP for Garu Tempane, Dominic Azimbe Azumah retained his seat when he polled 195 votes. Six other contenders, Essagol Joseph Lama, Akuka Alazuuga, John Akudugu Simon Asore, Daniel Asigri Zayeya and Alhaji Ayass Awelisa polled 92, 52, 17, seven three and one vote respectively.
Sunday 22 January 2012
Friday 20 January 2012
Don't Renew Mandate Of NDC Sitting MPs In North - NORPRA(Benjamin Xornam Glover, 20th January 2012)
Governance and advocacy civil society organisation based in Bolgatanga, the Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy,(NORPRA), has urged delegates to the NDC primaries to reject all sitting members of parliament from the three regions of Northern Ghana by voting massively against them.
According to the President of NORPRA, Mr Bismark Ayorogo Adongo, the call had been necessitated by what the group sees as a grand failure on the part of the sitting MPs to lobby and bring development projects to the northern part of Ghana.
“Sitting MPs in the three regions of northern Ghana do not deserve re-election because over the years, they have failed to do enough by raising issues of critical concerns relating to the lives of the ordinary citizens of the constituencies,” he asserted.
“They have not been able to secure a better deal for the people of the three regions and have over the years misrepresented the people who voted them into parliament”.
Citing examples, Mr Adongo said, the sitting MPs had failed to bring pressure to bear on government to keep its part of the social contract entered with the good people of northern Ghana, that is the support for the Savanna Accelerated Development Programme.
“It is a fact that this sitting government promised the people of Northern Ghana an allocation of GHc200 million for SADA and GHc100 million every year for 20 years and to urge the country’s development partners to contribute up to $ 200 million for SADA.
Since 2009 up to date, the government of Ghana haven’t been able to execute a quarter of this social contract entered with the good people of northern Ghana. Yet our members of Parliament, none of them have raised the issue on the floor of Parliament or outside of Parliament to demand accountability,” he said.
He said he was of the firm opinion that had the MPs from the three northern regions come together to raise concerns, the government would have taken action and done what was right by allocating the needed resources to SADA so that programmes and projects could be implemented in Northern Ghana and dealt with the endemic poverty in the area. “None of the sitting MPs have done that and we think that is not fair enough”.
Secondly, the NORPRA president said the sitting MPs failed to lobby for some development projects out of the recent $ 3billion Chinese loan facility secured by government saying had that lobbying been done, the three regions which faced serious infrastructural needs would have been catered for.
“There are a lot of infrastructure projects that are going to be executed out of these huge loan facility in recent times yet no single project is coming to northern Ghana. Our MPs who are in the forefront of this debate, none of them saw the need to raise it for the attention of the entire parliament and government that northern Ghana deserved better in the sharing of these loan facility”, he said.
Mr Adongo also accused the sitting MPs for failing to exercise oversight responsibility on government by allowing the redirection of a $ 500 million facility from Brazil meant for the construction of a hydro–electric project at Pwalugu and Juale into the Eastern corridor road projects adding that had the project been executed could have boosted the agriculture and energy sectors, “with our MPs watching, the funds were diverted to the construction of the eastern corridor project”.
“We are not saying that the eastern corridor road project is not important but of equally importance to us is the hydro-electric dam project which will harness and harvest the vast amount of the annual flood waters which causes destruction to lives and property. By the way, the road project is not even starting from the north but rather from the south and only God knows when it will extend to the Northern part of Ghana”, he said.
NORPRA also lampooned the sitting MPs, for what they termed failure to regularly brief their constituents on their activities in parliament while on break or recess.
“Even in instances, where civil society organisation organised “Meet your MP sessions, some of the sitting MPs failed to attend.“Some time we want to believe that one need special intervention and the almighty God to get our MPS to grace an occasion to explain his role in policy formulation”
“They only avail themselves when is time to renew their mandate and hence the call on the delegates to demand accountability before renewing their mandate”, he said. Some sitting MPs seeking re-elections in the Upper East Region when contacted on phone for a reaction on the matter declined to comment.
According to the President of NORPRA, Mr Bismark Ayorogo Adongo, the call had been necessitated by what the group sees as a grand failure on the part of the sitting MPs to lobby and bring development projects to the northern part of Ghana.
“Sitting MPs in the three regions of northern Ghana do not deserve re-election because over the years, they have failed to do enough by raising issues of critical concerns relating to the lives of the ordinary citizens of the constituencies,” he asserted.
“They have not been able to secure a better deal for the people of the three regions and have over the years misrepresented the people who voted them into parliament”.
Citing examples, Mr Adongo said, the sitting MPs had failed to bring pressure to bear on government to keep its part of the social contract entered with the good people of northern Ghana, that is the support for the Savanna Accelerated Development Programme.
“It is a fact that this sitting government promised the people of Northern Ghana an allocation of GHc200 million for SADA and GHc100 million every year for 20 years and to urge the country’s development partners to contribute up to $ 200 million for SADA.
Since 2009 up to date, the government of Ghana haven’t been able to execute a quarter of this social contract entered with the good people of northern Ghana. Yet our members of Parliament, none of them have raised the issue on the floor of Parliament or outside of Parliament to demand accountability,” he said.
He said he was of the firm opinion that had the MPs from the three northern regions come together to raise concerns, the government would have taken action and done what was right by allocating the needed resources to SADA so that programmes and projects could be implemented in Northern Ghana and dealt with the endemic poverty in the area. “None of the sitting MPs have done that and we think that is not fair enough”.
Secondly, the NORPRA president said the sitting MPs failed to lobby for some development projects out of the recent $ 3billion Chinese loan facility secured by government saying had that lobbying been done, the three regions which faced serious infrastructural needs would have been catered for.
“There are a lot of infrastructure projects that are going to be executed out of these huge loan facility in recent times yet no single project is coming to northern Ghana. Our MPs who are in the forefront of this debate, none of them saw the need to raise it for the attention of the entire parliament and government that northern Ghana deserved better in the sharing of these loan facility”, he said.
Mr Adongo also accused the sitting MPs for failing to exercise oversight responsibility on government by allowing the redirection of a $ 500 million facility from Brazil meant for the construction of a hydro–electric project at Pwalugu and Juale into the Eastern corridor road projects adding that had the project been executed could have boosted the agriculture and energy sectors, “with our MPs watching, the funds were diverted to the construction of the eastern corridor project”.
“We are not saying that the eastern corridor road project is not important but of equally importance to us is the hydro-electric dam project which will harness and harvest the vast amount of the annual flood waters which causes destruction to lives and property. By the way, the road project is not even starting from the north but rather from the south and only God knows when it will extend to the Northern part of Ghana”, he said.
NORPRA also lampooned the sitting MPs, for what they termed failure to regularly brief their constituents on their activities in parliament while on break or recess.
“Even in instances, where civil society organisation organised “Meet your MP sessions, some of the sitting MPs failed to attend.“Some time we want to believe that one need special intervention and the almighty God to get our MPS to grace an occasion to explain his role in policy formulation”
“They only avail themselves when is time to renew their mandate and hence the call on the delegates to demand accountability before renewing their mandate”, he said. Some sitting MPs seeking re-elections in the Upper East Region when contacted on phone for a reaction on the matter declined to comment.
Thursday 19 January 2012
UE NDC Caution aspirants(D/G Wednesday January 19, 2012)
In a related development, Benjamin Xornam Glover, reports from Bolgatanga that candidates for the NDC, seeking elections to represent their constituents in parliament have been cautioned against attempts to hoard or camp delegates ahead of the primaries.
A statement issued by the Regional Chairman of the party, Alhaji Mumuni Bol-naba, said the act was at variance with the party’s guidelines and position on the conduct of campaigns, warning that any aspirant caught in such an act would be dealt with accordingly.
He said per the party’s guidelines, the audited delegates list had been issued out to all aspirants to enable them have access to all delegates in the course of their campaigns.
Hoarding or camping of delegates by one candidate would therefore amount to denying other aspirants or candidates access to such delegates.
He also advised delegates to desist from and reject any attempt by any aspirant to camp or hoard them stressing that it would not only deny them access to fair assessment of their choice but amount to an insult to their sense of judgement and responsibility.
The regional chairman entreated both aspirants and delegates to cooperate to ensure successful primaries throughout the region.
A statement issued by the Regional Chairman of the party, Alhaji Mumuni Bol-naba, said the act was at variance with the party’s guidelines and position on the conduct of campaigns, warning that any aspirant caught in such an act would be dealt with accordingly.
He said per the party’s guidelines, the audited delegates list had been issued out to all aspirants to enable them have access to all delegates in the course of their campaigns.
Hoarding or camping of delegates by one candidate would therefore amount to denying other aspirants or candidates access to such delegates.
He also advised delegates to desist from and reject any attempt by any aspirant to camp or hoard them stressing that it would not only deny them access to fair assessment of their choice but amount to an insult to their sense of judgement and responsibility.
The regional chairman entreated both aspirants and delegates to cooperate to ensure successful primaries throughout the region.
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