Akwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh, MP for Sunyani East

Open letter to MP for Sunyani East – Hon. Akwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh

Augustine Boahen Features Jun - 21 - 2020 , 18:33

Dear Hon. Ameyaw Cheremeh,

Before I proceed, I want to introduce myself. My name is Augustine Boahen a native of Sunyani. I had my basic education at Sunyani and my Secondary education at Sunyani Secondary before proceeding to the University of Cape Coast. I did my national service at Sunyani before I migrated to Canada and has been here for the past 25 years. I am giving this background to show that I am a born and bred son of your constituency. For the past three years, I have been in Ghana three times and what I see in Sunyani has compelled me to pen you this letter. My last visit was in February this year and I wanted to meet you but was told that you were in Accra.

I remember when you were first elected as our MP, some of us were delighted because we saw you as a young man and with your youthful exuberance, we nursed the hope that things were going to be good for our constituency. After many years as our MP, what we see in the constituency especially Sunyani has dashed our hopes. After those many years representing us, I am yet to point to something that has your name attached to it in Sunyani. In order words, there is nothing by way of legacy that can be used to remember you when tomorrow, you decide no more to represent us in parliament.

What has compelled me to write this letter was a documentary I watched some few weeks ago on Joy News about the Sunyani Library. That day, after watching the documentary, I asked myself whether we have any leadership in Sunyani. In the said documentary I saw the old library (the one opposite the Catholic Church) which I used to visit some 40 years ago and saw the same small tables and chairs as the main library in a town that boasts of two universities, many second cycle schools and a host of other educational facilities. The same book shelves that were there 40 years ago were seen in the documentary. To add insult to injury, the documentary showed the structure that was supposed to be a new library at the Parks and Gardens near the Prisons Barracks on your way to the Regional Coordinating Council. I literally wept that day when I saw the place being taken over by bushes and the mentally impaired. I don’t know whether you have seen the structure that I am talking about. The other library opposite the old Catering Rest House which I was told was started by Mr. J.H. Mensah is nothing to write home about. The question that I asked myself was; “Do we have an MP for Sunyani”? I became sadder when I learnt that you are the Majority Chief Whip in parliament. As a majority Chief Whip, there is no minister that you cannot talk to about projects in your constituency. Certain positions are given to politicians and the occupiers should take advantage of it but we see the reverse in your situation.

The Library is not the only thing that portrays your failure as an MP. Look at the road in front of the Regional Hospital and that tells you that you are sleeping on the job. You should not tell me that MPs don’t construct roads because there are other MPs that have influenced many projects in their constituencies. The road was started by the old administration and half of it was done. The other half has been like that for the past three years and nothing is being done to finish that small portion of the road. When the Finance Minister read last year’s budget, I heard that Sunyani city roads and Kumasi city roads were to be commenced but at my last visit in February, I saw the Kumasi roads being constructed seriously but nothing was seen in Sunyani. When I asked why, I was told that it has been started around the GNTC area. When one checked the YouTube, the construction of the Kumasi city roads is all over the place but we are yet to see a yard of Sunyani town roads being worked on. The question that I need an answer to is why it is that we are not seeing anything on Sunyani roads? I don’t want to talk about the abandoned ring road that was started by the Mahama regime.

In politics, when we mention some names we only think about the legacy that was left behind by their actions. I may be wrong, but I am yet to see a legacy that you are leaving behind. You can be acquiring some properties (I don’t have any problem with that) but the societal benefit of your tenure is what is paramount. You may have the nomination of your party and knowing your constituency being what it is (the world bank of the NPP), I know that whoever stands on the ticket of the NPP in your constituency will win and that doesn’t mean that we should take the people of the constituency for granted. The people of Sunyani have been taken for granted for far too long by both the NPP and NDC.

Don’t allow personal or family issues affect the performance of your duties as the people’s representative. The people of Sunyani East in general and Sunyani Township in particular cannot be used to achieve your personal aim. The question therefore is what should be done?

By the way, have you visited the Sunyani Airport to see the construction work that is being done there? When I was in Ghana recently, I visited the place and my jaw nearly dropped. The reason is that the distance between some houses and the newly constructed runway is less than 100 metres. Are we waiting for a disaster to happen before politicians like you will go and have photo ops? We are siting on a time bomb and those encroachers should be moved away and their houses demolished. Those encroachers are illegally building on lands that are not theirs. I advise which they should vote for you again? You have continuously been winning the seat not because of what you have done for the constituency but because of the party on whose ticket you always contest. Enough is enough and I am saying so because when you compare Sunyani with other regional capitals in the country, then we ask the question whether have an MP? Another thing that you should have worked on is your relationship with the Sunyani Traditional Council. No matter what, you should find a way of working with the council because if nothing at all, it is the largest traditional authority in your constituency. Again they are your elders and being somebody who has lived all your life in the town, there is no way you should have problems with them. You should have worked on that relationship and your work would have been easier.

With the above, I think the time has come for you to give way for another person who will have the development of the constituency in general and Sunyani in particular at heart. You have had enough tine and opportunity and you have squandered it so give way to another person, maybe he or she will think about the people who voted for you.

I wish I could get the opportunity to sit down with you to talk about these and other issues affecting our dear city – Sunyani. I hope you will not take this letter personal but rather sit down and see whether the issues that I am raising are real issues that need to be addressed. If you want to get back to me I’m available via email at [email protected]. You can get back to me if you so desire.