Youth In Amenfi East To Hit The Streets Against Hon. Akwasi Oppong Fosu

We, the youth for progressive change in the wasa Amenfi East district will on Tuesday 13 ^th October 2015, stage a massive demonstration against our Member of Parliament Hon. Akwasi Oppong Fosu at wasa Akropong for not showing much commitment in addressing our developmental challenges especially our poor rural roads among others.

The demonstration is dubbed “WADI Y3N HWA M)” to express our outmost disappointment in our representative in parliament. Many people have expressed great concerns about the poor state of our roads and also the attitude of our MP since he got our mandate to represent us. In as much as he is responsible for making laws as a legislature, he is also responsible for lobbying projects into the constituency to alleviate our people from suffering and hardship.

The key among the issues on which we are demonstrating are: Bad roads, MP’s Truancy in Parliament and important social gatherings in the district, and his silence on the unlawful confiscation of equipment of youth in the small scale mining industry in the district.

We say without mincing words that Amenfi East has the poorest rural road networks in the country and we have raised this concerns unaccountably in our previous press releases but to no effect. The roads from wasa Afransie to Adesu, wasa Akropong through saamang-konkooso to wasa Kumasi, Nkonya to Nsuaem No.1 & 2, and Nkonya to Dompoase are all not safe for traveling not to talk of Bawdie-Adonoi-Suhyenso to Mansiso, wasa Saamang through Adanse-Gyedua to Asuoagyakrobo and Wasa Afransie- Abrokyirekrobo-Epom to Wasa Saa roads.

Our roads are generally poor and these affect travellers, businesses and living. Passengers are made to pay unbearable fares as a result of regular maintenance of faulty cars that plies on these routes. Also, Our research at the various health institutions suggests that about 10% of pregnant women have been reported to have had miscarriages and also people with emergency case lost their lives for not reaching the hospital in due time as a result of the poor roads.

Moreover, the most disturbed issue is that, the Ghana Cocoa Board has secured $158m for cocoa roads in six regions of which Western region forms part but not just a 1km road in the Amenfi East district has been captured to benefit from the cocoa road projects. The question then is, don’t we grow cocoa in Amenfi East? Don’t we have poor cocoa roads? Don’t we have somebody to lobby for us? Or is somebody painting a different picture somewhere? We must have been lucky to have an MP who headed the Local Government Ministry, environment science & Tech. and currently serving as a minister of state at the presidency in charge of policy and development. We must say that, the president’s appointment of Hon Akwasi Oppong Fosu is yet to inure to our benefit.

As reported by Sagoe Moses on MP’s absenteeism in parliament, Hon Oppong Fosu managed to top the list of five worst absentees MP’s in parliament, attending only 44 out of 158 sittings from 2013 to 2014. To us, it wasn’t a surprise because we had raised many concerns about his punctuality long ago. We believe, this explains why Amenfi East is not progressing.

His truancy is not limited to attending parliament sittings but also other important social gatherings in the constituency including programs related to promoting and improving education, the late omanhene’s funeral and the enstoolment of the current paramount chief Tetrete Okuamoa Sekyi of wasa Amenfi traditional council. This has brought pains in the hearts of most of us, we feel cheated and blackmailed and will come out to demonstrate our disappointment to the whole world.

Finally, although we agree in principle that the activities of illegal galamsey operators have some negative impacts on our environment and society but the effect of an increasing jobless youth in our society is more dangerous and non-negotiable. Most of our youth who are operating in this industry have gone through the right channels to acquire the necessary licenses and documentations to legally operate but every now and then wahala for them.

Our excavator machines have been confiscated by some task force operatives with orders from above and later required to pay not less than 10000gh for their equipment. As we speak most of our youth are highly indebted and some have even threatened to commit suicide. It is expected of our MP to intervene since there are no jobs for our unemployed youth. Families depend on us and therefore makes life very difficult. Several calls have been made to our honorable but no response.

We believe this is beyond the powers of our traditional council even though they have put up much efforts to get our machines back, in order to have a peace of mind to work and clear our huge debts. Since these orders are exercise of political powers we expect our MP/minister to intervene on our behalf. We are pleading on president Mahama to turn his eyes on Amenfi East since it has gotten to the point where we are to do the lobbying ourselves. Hon Oppong Fosu Adi Y3N HWA M).

On this note we invite all media houses and press to cover this demo on the Tuesday 13^th October 2015 at wasa Akropong. Amenfi East must enjoy the better side of Ghana.

God Bless Amenfi East! God Bless YPC!!

……Signed…….

Frederick Kumah – Convener 0241720675/0506915349

Patrick Armoh - Asst. Secretary 0248425223

Nana Poku II - dept. Operations Dir. 0233828407

Kwame Asiedu- 2^nd dept. Operations Dir. 0546319818

Odame Antwi Bosiakoh P.R.O 0240804001