Described as the political thermometer, the Odododiodoo Constituency is one of the hottest and keenly contested seats in the country.
That is because the results of parliamentary elections there since 1992 have been interesting. With the exception of 2004, any party that won the Odododiodoo seat sent that party’s flag bearer to the Osu Castle.
Mainly a fishing community, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has won the seat five times since 1992 and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) once in 2000.
However, being a cosmopolitan constituency by all standards, Odododiodoo’s diversity makes it a difficult constituency to predict.
Unfortunately, the youth, women and children in the constituency are yet to fully benefit from the two political parties, the NDC and the NPP, in terms of youth employment, economic development, education, sports and entertainment, among others sectors.
Inauguration of working committee
It is against this background that members of the NDC in the constituency inaugurated the women and youth working committee in Accra last Sunday
The committee, which is expected to spearhead the campaign of the party in the area, would also serve as a rallying point for the women and youth to prosecute the agenda of the party.
That would be done by communicating the government’s development efforts to the people in the constituency and in a manner that would convince them to vote for the party, come November 7, 2016.
In attendance at the inauguration was the Minister of State in charge of Public Private Partnerships (PPP), and NDC MP for Wa Central, Mr Rashid Pelpuo; the Minister of Youth and Sports and MP for the Odododiodoo Constituency, Nii Lante Vanderpuye; the Deputy National Women’s Organiser of the NDC, Dr Mrs Catherine Deynu, and some executive members of the NDC.
Be focused and calm
Inaugurating the committee, Mr Nii Lante Vanderpuye urged the youth in the area to remain peaceful and focused in the face of any physical provocation or attacks as the country headed to the polls on November 7, 2016.
He said instead of engaging in violent activities that had the tendency of disrupting the peace in the constituency and the country as a whole, it was important for the youth to rather sell the message of the party.
“We have done a lot so instead of fighting and being violent and engaging in violent activities, let us rather go out there and sell our message. Let people know what we have done because the person who is bringing the fight has not got a message and that is why the person is using violence. So instead of you meeting the person with violence, give the person your message, which will disarm that person,” he said
Words are stronger
Mr Vanderpuye said choosing to attack with words was a much stronger and powerful choice since with the achievements that the party and the government had chalked up in the constituency, there would not be the need to engage in any physical fights.
“There will not be the need for the party to take cutlasses and machetes to fight. They may come in 100 directions, but our work will disperse them in 1,000 directions,” he said.
Explaining the rationale behind the setting up of the committee, Mr Vanderpuye said the party in the constituency believed in the ability of the youth and the women to mobilise and organise people in the area.
Therefore, he said, the working committee would not only help in canvassing support for the party during the upcoming elections, but also it would hear the concerns of the people in the area with regard to what they want done for them.
On whether the executives of the party in the area would be able to solve all the problems that were brought to them, Mr Vanderpuye said that even if they were not able to solve all the problems, it would be good for them to listen to the concerns of the constituents.
‘We will work hard’
The NDC Constituency Chairman, Mr Paul Oblie Laryea, in his address, said the youth and women had been recognised for their contributions in the previous registration and voting exercises and as such the inauguration of the committee was to further provide them with the needed support to make them work harder to deliver victory to the party on November 7, 2016.
He said the campaign would be based on issues and the hard work that had been exhibited by the government and gave the assurance that the party would do all it could to ensure victory for the party.
The NDC Women’s Organiser of the constituency, Ms Mavis Manugbor, said although the constituency had benefited from the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) loans and other products, they could not go round to serve the majority of women to enable them to expand their trading activities.
Therefore, she said the threshold for the loan must be reconsidered. Besides, the loan was too small to make an impact in the business activities of the women in the area, she added.
The Youth Organiser of the constituency, Alhaji Yakubu Commodore, said youth unemployment had been the biggest challenge facing the majority of the youth in the area and expressed the hope that the working committee would provide the leadership to address the issue.
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