Residents of Ekon, a fishing community in the Cape Coast South Constituency and a stronghold of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have tilted towards the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
They have vowed to show Mr Kweku Ricketts Hagan, incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), the exit by voting massively for Ernest Arthur and the NPP in Monday’s general elections.
Their decision stems from what they term as all-time impressive performance by the Mayor of Cape Coast, Mr Ernest Arthur, and the NPP government.
Some of the residents who spoke in an interview with The Chronicle posited that the community, for the first time, had witnessed unprecedented development under this government.
Kwamena Ackon, a resident, stated that the previous administration and the MP for the area, Mr Ricketts Hagan, had over the years taken the people for granted. “Our votes won him the seat in 2016, but go and ask him how many times he has visited us since we voted for him to win the last elections as MP?” he queried.
Another resident, Mr Ekow Awortwi, who also spoke with the paper, alleged that Mr Ricketts had completely abandoned the community after they endorsed him in 2016.
Over the years, the people of Ekon have been voting tremendously for the NDC, as a political party, and the party’s parliamentary candidates, including Mr Ricketts.
At the last general elections, it took votes from Ekon polling stations to ensure victory for Mr Kweku Ricketts to the defeat of Mr Arthur Dadzie of the NPP.
However, some residents, including diehard NDC supporters, have vowed to turn their thumbs in Monday’s polls and vote for the NPP.
They claimed that their MP only recognised their importance whenever he needed their votes during elections, but did not care about their well-being.
Ama Beduwaa said: “Please, call Mr Ricketts to come and point to us what he has done since he became our MP, especially when this area has been his stronghold.”
Interventions by the Ernest Arthur
With empirical evidence, some of the residents who had declared their support for the NPP parliamentary candidate, pointed to notable achievements of Mayor Ernest Arthur in the community.
According to them, for the past two years, Mr Arthur, who resides at Ekon, has been providing free potable water to the residents, even before the President’s Coronavirus intervention.
Others revealed that the famous lagoon, which served as a means of livelihood to many of the youth and elderly as well, became non-existent for many years in the past.
The Chronicle can objectively attest to the fact that the entire stretch of the lagoon, where the people engaged in fishing, was choked with sand, which had narrowed its width.
Also, weeds cover the lagoon, which has drastically depleted the fish stock and halted fishing activities, a situation that had visited hardships on the local people
An ardent supporter of Mr Ricketts, Nana Abaka, a local fisherman who plies his trade in the lagoon, alleged that the MP refused to listen to their plea to him on the lagoon
“Mr Ricketts has never mentioned this in Parliament for assistance, but because of Mayor, now the lagoon has been dredged and we have been fishing to get our daily bread,” he explained.
Mayor Arthur has extended electricity to areas that required urgent connection to the national grid, with streetlights fixed to each of them.
This has partially ended the recent spate of criminal activities which became so rampant in the town due to the fact that the lack of electricity provided cover for the criminals.
Another achievement the people are so excited about is the fact that under Mr Arthur, the residence of the Midwife at the Community-based Health Planning and Service (CHPS) compound has been refurbished.
Following this success story, a Midwife for the compound, who hitherto did not live there, has now pitched camp at the facility and was providing needed services.
He has also provided a polytank, which has the capacity to store 10,000 litres of water, for Oguaa Secondary Technical, a high school located in the community.
Mayor 1, as he is affectionately called by the teeming constituents of Cape Coast South, Mr Arthur is well identified by the people as a grassroots member.
The affable nature of Mr Ernest Arthur has endeared him to the hearts of residents of the community who have vowed to vote massively for him on Monday.
The post Ekon voters to drop Rickets for Mayor Arthur appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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