Ras Mubarak Eyes Ablekuma North NDC Slot

Mr Mohammed Mubarak aka Ras Mubarak, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Youth activist and former deputy PRO for NDC Europe group, has said he is back to build a political base by contesting the Ablekuma North NDC parliamentary primary seat.

“I am back to build a political base. One cannot build a solid political base whilst abroad. There is a lot of work to be done, now that the NDC has nominated its presidential candidate for the 2012 election,” he told the Daily Graphic in an interview.

Mr Mubarak said that he loved public service and would be humbled by the opportunity to represent the people of Ablekuma North Constituency.

“The crucial thing for me is the cause of Ghana”, he told the Daily Graphic

“There are those who have said that I am young at 32. But my response is that young people are equally concerned about issues affecting Ghanaians. It is about the future of the country. Our Parliament has a lot of good people but we need a lot more energy from younger people who understand the cut and thrust of politics. People with new ideas to solutions and old problems,” he stated.

According to Mr Mubarak, the Ablekuma North Constituency was such that it should not have been the stronghold of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In his view, “Ablekuma North is not Bantama, Ketu South or North, Tafo or Suame constituencies. Ablekuma North is very diverse with Christians, Muslims, Voltarians, and the Zongo community all living there.”

He said that he was gratified by the effort and hard work of the constituency executive of the NDC and believed that with that kind of togetherness of purpose, the NDC stood a better chance of winning the 2012 election.

“I see a sense of urgency within the party and the constituency executive deserve a lot of commendation. Every one is willing to make huge sacrifices. From ward, branches through to constituency levels, I realised 16 years of NPP in Ablekuma North is simply not good enough,” he stated.

He said that the problems of Ablekuma North had simply aggravated. “We still have the perennial floods which the former MP, Mr Bartels, and the current MP, Mr Joe Appiah, have not found solutions to”.

“These are things that require urgent attention because it affects families and livelihood”.

He also noted that robbery was on the increase in the constituency, whilst there was social disorder and a complete collapse of trust in politics by the electorate.

He said what the constituency needed was something different; from the old ways of solving problems in the constituency.

He said given the opportunity, he would go green in Ablekuma North. “I have plans of planting 5,000 trees every year for four years in the constituency, saying that “I have identified Santa Maria, which usually gets flooded because it is in a waterway, part of Kwashieman, Nyamekye areas. I will also encourage home owners to plant trees. We need effective policing in the area to curb the spate of robbery and for the young people, personal development is crucial”.

“So I will establish a development fund purposely to take care of the educational needs of young people who need training and re-training. It is only by developing themselves personally will they be able t o have sustainable jobs and incomes”, he stated.

“With my experience, I have been able to identify some sources of funding from individuals and the government abroad to embark on some of these projects. I have been a card-bearing and dues-paying member of the NDC since 1996 and have lived in Ablekuma North since 2003 when I left Kumasi. I have contributed in diverse ways as a polling agent, made a lot of personal or private contribution to the affairs of the party in the constituency.

‘We are not looking to elect a candidate, but a candidate who can win the seat for us and somebody who can bring a lot of experience to impact in parliament. Somebody with an appeal that the electorate can easily identify and have access to”.

“There is no inevitability in politics. I can not win this without the support of the people. So we will work harder, look at where we went wrong the last time and put forward a campaign message that appeals to all electorates and to know that they deserve better than what they have been offered within the last 16 years”.