<<Print>>Some residents of the Wassa Amenfi West Constituency in the Western Region, have responded rather angrily to government’s sudden decision to tar some roads in the area with asphalt ahead of Tuesday’s by-election.
The residents, who believe the sudden reconstruction and asphalting of the Asankragua town toads, is a ploy to woo them to vote for the incumbent NDC, say it will not influence their voting pattern.
Some said the government by this action had clearly shown that politicians were taking “them for a ride”. “We have seen the reconstruction of the town roads. You see, had it not been this by-election, they would have been no development of this sort because they think the people are okay with what they had, which is not what is on the ground.
We were expecting them to do this long ago. It cannot change or influence me tomorrow [Tuesday].” Ahead of the by-election occasioned by the death of the NDC MP, John Gyetuah, some 2km of road in the Asankragua township has been asphalted. Other roads in the town as at Sunday December 13 2015, were also being given a quick facelift.
One of the residents said “they have announced it on radio that our roads at Toronpan, Mmofra Nfa Adwen, Mumuni, and even Sambreboi have been reconstructed long ago. I want to put on record that has never happened here. It’s all lies. In fact, what the NDC is doing to residents in these areas is not good. It will never influence my voting. God is watching them. I pray they lose the by-election tomorrow [Tuesday].” Others said the Amenfi West area which is known for cultivating huge tracts of cocoa farms, has roads in the hinterlands that need urgent attention rather than their town roads. “They have it in their minds that the constituents here are like palm trees. Whether you nurture it or not, it will bear fruits. We will not wait; remain in this situation for the next four years.
Had it not been this by-election, who said they would have reconstructed our roads.? Who even said with our contribution to the country we do not deserve these roads?” A mechanic quizzed in an interview with Citi News. NPP executives in the Western Region have already accused the incumbent NDC of vote buying through the distribution of machetes and fertilizer among others to voters.
But the NDC denied the allegation explaining that the works the government had done is enough to win them the seat again. There were similar allegations of sudden development projects against the incumbent NDC administration ahead of the by-election in Talensi which the party eventually won.
The NDC’s candidate for Tuesday’s poll is 41-year old Eric Afful, who works with a local cocoa buying company in the constituency. The NPP is represented by Paul Derkyi, a 43-year old lawyer. The others are Mr. Abraham Kwadwo Buadee, a 41-year-old accountant for the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), and Mr. Elvis Adjei, a 30-year-old Loan administrator for the United Front Party (UFP).
The Amenfi West seat has traditionally been an NDC seat. The party has occupied it since 2,000 with four different candidates. Apart from the year 2000 and 2004, when the NPP came close to winning, the NDC in 2008 and 2012 stretched the vote margins considerably.