Volta Residents Snub NDC Forum In Ho

It appears the frustrating effects of the economy and alleged mismanagement by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) is catching up with residents of the Volta Region, the government’s stronghold. This became evident last weekend when residents of the region, particularly residents of Ho, the regional capital, boycotted a forum organised by the government to propagate its achievements to the people.
But for the students of the OLA Senior High School, School of Hygiene in Ho and the Erijem Vocational Institute, the auditorium of the OLA SHS would have been empty. Not even the presence of some big shots of the government could attract the residents who in the past had been strong supporters of the government.

The forum, which was the second in the region this year, was dubbed Government for People (G4P). G4P Forum was introduced by the Mahama-led NDC government to serve as a platform to showcase development projects and other achievements of the government. The forum was also used to introduce the “Accounting to the People” book launched by President John Dramani Mahama recently.

Apart from the students who became seat fillers, a few residents and chiefs attended the programme. That notwithstanding, half the auditorium was empty. At a point, some students of the Ho School of Hygiene and OLA SHS, who obviously became bored, decided to leave midway during the forum. This was followed by several others such that before the programme ended, only the chiefs and a few party fanatics remained. That notwithstanding, the Ministers of State took turns to address the poorly patronised forum.

The Communications Minister, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, expressed gratitude to Ghanaians for their patience during the period of the energy crisis popularly referred to as ‘dumsor’. He pleaded for more patience as he assured that government will soon fix the challenge once and for all. He promised that the controversial National Youth Employment Programme would next year engage about 120,000 young people in different modules.

The Volta Regional Minister, Helen Adjoa Ntoso, stressed that the region has received its “fair share of the national cake”. A Deputy Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, was hopeful that the quality of education in the region would improve, adding that plans were far advanced to equip Ho Polytechnic to make it ready for its conversion into a technical university. Complaints During an open forum, residents lamented bitterly about the poor road network in the region, including the Ho township roads. Many also complained about the high level of corruption in the country as well as the bad nature of the economy, which was adversely affecting their living conditions.

From Fred Duodu, Ho (freduoo@gmail.com)