Kempes Endorses Mahama's Nominee

 
From Richard Attenkah, Tema
Former Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), Robert Kempes Ofosuware has endorsed Isaac Ashai Odamtten, President John Dramani Mahama's nominee for the position of the Tema MCE.

According to him, Mr. Odamtten is a good material for the position and that he has no doubt that the president's nominee could continue from where he left off, ensuring the continuation of the 'Better Ghana' agenda.

There was widespread speculation in the Tema Metropolis that the former TMA boss was behind agitations among party faithful and Assembly members, leading to rejection of the president's nominee.

But Mr. Kempes Ofosuware has denied the speculation, saying he has no reason to kick against Mr. Odamtten as his successor, because he believes that the business of governorship is like a baton race, which is passed on from one person to another.

He explained that those party faithful and TMA Assembly members who rallied behind him when he was kicked out of office, which led to the supposed agitation against the president's nominee, did so on their own volition, and not on his instruction.

He urged all his supporters and supporters of the party to give their utmost support to Mr. Odamtten to enable him continue the good works of the government and also appealed to the Assembly members to endorse the man by voting for him massively for a one touch confirmation.

Mr. Kempes Ofosuware said this in an interview with The Chronicle after meeting with Mr. Odamtten at Tema. 'I want to urge all the Assembly members to respect the president's decision and accord the nominee, Mr. Odamtten, the same support they gave me some four years ago.

'I have thrown my entire support behind Mr. Odamtten and have even called on all my supporters and the Assembly members to support him to continue the good work we started four years ago', Kempes, aka 'Mr. Asphalt' stated.

Mr. Kempes Ofosuware hinted that at the moment, his topmost priority is to concentrate on how to organize himself well enough to win the 2016 parliamentary election, which he lost to Titus Nii Kwartei Glover, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate in the last election by a slim margin of only three votes.

According to Mr. Odamtten, his predecessor did well in the road sector that was how come he was nicknamed Mr. 'Asphalt', saying when he gets the nod as the mayor of Tema; his topmost priority would be to look at the sewerage system in the metropolis. He disclosed that he would also take a critical look at the sanitation and drainage systems within the Tema Metropolis to find a way to address the problem.

He continued that because of the huge volumes of cargo that arrive at the Tema port on daily basis, there was the need for an efficient haulage system to help decongest the port.

Touching on sports, the president's nominee observed that: 'We need to create opportunities for the youth in the metropolis in the areas of talent and skill development. We would also look at boxing, basketball and other talents in all sectors of the economy, especially sports and education'.

Mr. Odamtten also promised to pursue the Tema Sports Stadium expansion project, which was started by his predecessor in 2012.    

Mr. Isaac Ashai Odamtten, President John Dramani Mahama's nominee for the position of the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive is a teacher by profession, and until his nomination he was a senior manager at the International Commercial Bank (ICB) in Accra.

After teaching for a while, Mr. Odamtten, who contested against Mr. Kempes Ofosuware for the same position in 2009 proceeded to the University of Cape Coast, where he obtained a degree in Business Communication (BCom).