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Know your female parliamentary candidates
Know your female parliamentary candidates

Know your female Parliamentary candidates

This is the final publication on women who have resolved to serve their country by becoming law-makers in Parliament.

We hope the information we put out about them would, in some way, help voters make up their minds about the people they want to represent them in Parliament.  

Ms Margaret Ansei NDC parliamentary candidate for Suhum Constituency, Eastern Region

A few months after beating the Suhum Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Samuel Fleischer Okwabi, at the NDC’s parliamentary primary, Ms Margaret Ansei, popularly known as Magoo, was appointed by the President as the MCE for the municipality after  Mr Okwabi resigned his position.

She said the constituency, which is assumed to be one of the safe seats of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was a cosmopolitan area made up of people from different areas and so it would be wrong for any party to say it ‘belonged’ to that party.

Speaking to The Mirror, she said she was ready to claim the seat from the incumbent and work hard to make Suhum a better place.

“A few months ago, I was appointed as the MCE and within this short period I have been able to complete projects that had been abandoned for over 10 years. I know the people of Suhum are yearning for change and with evidence of my hard work, they will vote for me in the elections,” she said.

Some of the projects she has done in the few months include the construction of the Akorabo market, Teachers quarters at Okonam and Akorabo, reshaping of major roads linking villages in the constituency, an 18-seater unit classroom block for Suhum Presec and construction of 20 toilets with mechanized boreholes for 20 communities.

The duties of an MP she explained goes beyond representing the constituents in parliament.

She explained that it is also important for the people to see a change or development in the constituency.

She said an MP was an agent of development and so when given the nod, she would lobby for projects that would create more job opportunities for the people. 

She stated that the youth especially needed to be empowered through education, either formal or informal, so that they would not loiter or engage in social vices.

Ms Ansei said currently she was working on her house-to-house and one-on-one campaign and was waiting for the President to officially launch his campaign for her to do same.

The Former Ashanti Regional Coordinator for the Local Enterprise Skills Development Program (LESDEP), holds a degree in Business Administration,   from the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and a Masters Degree in International Trade from the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

Mrs Benita Sena Okity-Dua NDC parliamentary candidate for Ledzokuku Constituency, Greater Accra

Members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ledzokuku Constituency earlier this year voted for the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Mrs Benita Sena Okity-Dua, to contest for the seat in the December elections.

Mrs Okity-Duah who is seeking to be reelected to Parliament said she was optimistic that her constituency would retain her because of the work she had done in her first term.

When The Mirror caught up with her at her Teshie residence last week, she said she was yet to officially kick-start her campaign.

“We are really energised for the task ahead because we have worked, the projects are visible for everyone to see and so as we kick-start the campaign the message is for people to look at what is going on around them and then they can make their decision,” she said.

Although she admitted that the journey had not been easy, as everyone expects the MP to meet their individual expectations, she had been able to establish a relationship with her constituents and this was what had kept her going.

Notable among her projects in the constituency is the completion of the Teshie Bush Road, link roads in the constituency, construction of drains, Teshie Water Desalination Project and the expansion of the Teshie Technical School.

“The constituency is large and so we try to spread the projects to cover the whole area so some people do not feel left out. Some of the projects, like paying for vacation classes for junior high school students every year are projects I started doing even before I was elected as MP, and so even if I am not voted into power, I would still continue to support education in the constituency,” she stated.

For this year, she says her message to the constituents is for them to vote for her and the NDC government led by President John Dramani Mahama to continue the projects they have started.

“If I am voted into power, next year my focus would be on improving the drainage system and road network in the constituency. The constituency is growing at a faster pace with new settlements as far as the airport area. With such growth, there must be amenities to meet the standard. People should be comfortable moving in and out of their homes. I believe when the constituency is developed it would attract investors,” she said.

Mrs Okity-Duah attended Achimota School before moving to study fashion at the London School of fashion. In 2012, she became the first ever Miss Ghana beauty queen to be elected as a MP.

 From April 2013 to June 2014 she served as the Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection.  Currently, she is a Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Mrs Agnes Naa Momo Lartey NDC Parliamentary Candidate, Krowor Constituency,Greater Accra Region

Mrs Agnes Naa Momo Lartey  polled 2,495 of the total valid votes cast to beat two other contestants, Messrs Odai Emma and Daniel Alabi to become the National Democratic Congress's (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Krowor Constituency.

While Daniel Alabi polled 687 of the total valid votes cast, Mr Odai secured 187 votes.

Although the delegates had earlier this year elected Mr Emmanuel Borketey as their parliamentary candidate, a second primary was held after he resigned on health grounds.

Mrs Lartey, who contested the 2012 NDC primary in the constituency, said despite the short time she had to campaign, she was not surprised at the margin of her victory as she had maintained a good relationship with the constituents and party executive members.

She, however, admitted that it was not an easy task as she had very little time to prepare for the election.

"Usually, such a decision is well planned as aside preparing yourself for the election, you also need to prepare your family and close relatives ahead of time. Personally, I had planned my year in a different direction so entering into mainstream politics meant I had to reorganise my plans and activities for the year. 

“It was quite a tough period but God has been faithful as the feedback from the constituency so far has been positive. In 2012, when I contested, the electoral college was smaller. However this time, I had to reach a larger number of people within a short period, “she told The Mirror last week.

The general secretary of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) said she believed her years of working with people on developmental projects had prepared her for the task ahead.

She stated that already, she had lobbied for a revolving fund from the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) for women to support fishmongers and women in batik in the constituency.

When elected, her focus would be on improving education, both formal and informal as that was the surest way to improve the lives of the people.

She explained that majority of the people in the constituency were engaged in the informal sector and needed education and direction to be more successful in their businesses.

"So far, the NDC government has done  a lot of work to improve the infrastructure of schools in the constituency. My appeal to the constituents is to vote for me and the NDC so we continue with the projects we have started. I would also focus on the individual schools including teachers, students and the parents. Education is an all inclusive project that must be tackled with all stakeholders," she explained.

Other areas she would focus on include sanitation, youth employment, women empowerment and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Mrs Lartey, who is married with two children, holds an MPhil in Global Leadership from the University of Professional Studies, an MA in Human Resource Development from the University of Cape Coast and a Bachelor of Arts in Management Studies from the Central University.

She is currently preparing to pursue a PhD at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon.

 

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