Re-examine your unwavering support for NDC – Group to Voltarians

The group called Volta 4 Change in a press release said it is unwise for them to continue supporting political parties which do not have their interest and development at heart.

They said: “Volta 4 Change is calling on all Voltarians to examine the basis for our support for political parties and leaders. We are asking Voltarians to demand in exchange of our support to political parties and leaders, development and growth of our region.”

“We have no reason to continue to elect a party and its leaders who have used us for its own ends - milking us only for political capital. Voltarians can no longer justify support for a party that does not seek our welfare.”

Below is the full statement from the group

Volta 4 Change is a diverse group of Ghanaians who hail from the Volta Region and have come together to protest the continual neglect of the region and its people by successive governments, especially that of the National Democratic Congress.

Volta 4 Change is calling on all Voltarians to examine the basis for our support for political parties and leaders. We are asking Voltarians to demand in exchange of our support to political parties and leaders, development and growth of our region. We have no reason to continue to elect a party and its leaders who have used us for its own ends - milking us only for political capital. Voltarians can no longer justify support for a party that does not seek our welfare.

To the outsider looking in, the Volta Region is somewhat of a paradox. Its patent lack of development and dilapidation of its infrastructure are stark, and yet, election after election, we continue to elect a party that has failed to deliver for its inhabitants. It is a sad state of affairs as the Volta Region has the potential to be one of the leading regions in the country, instead of the laggard it is currently.

Unemployment is high, the farming sector is withering, roads are decrepit and health care provision is mediocre.

Faced with a lack of job opportunities, hordes of unemployed youths have taken to the region’s decrepit roads as okada riders, the danger of this occupation underlining the desperation of many to earn the most meagre income just to survive.

Yet this callous and ignorant John Mahama government fails to act to stimulate growth and opportunity in this moribund region.

For instance, take the area of tourism. It is a particular area where the Volta Region’s potential remains untapped. Areas of scenic beauty, such as the Wli Falls, and historical interest, such as the Likpe ancestral caves, have been vastly undervalued. The aforementioned attractions could potentially attract visitors from far and wide, stimulating the local economy and acting as a catalyst for development. Yet the government wilfully ignores these potential opportunities.

Likewise the farming sector has also failed to thrive. The biggest employer in the region, it remains unproductive as farmers who cannot afford the basics, such as tools and fertiliser, bear witness to their lands lying fallow. Despite these iniquities, government help is not forthcoming.

Trade and commerce is hampered by a road work that is frankly pitiful, the Ho-Aflao road being a case in point. Narrow and ridden with potholes, the aforementioned artery carries the bulk of trade between Ghana and Togo, thus serving as an important conduit for both goods and people. A much-needed rehabilitated road would improve trade between the two countries, with the Voltarians in particular (as well as Ghana in general) being the main beneficiaries. Yet the current lamentable thoroughfare is not exactly a ringing endorsement of John Mahama’s supposed love for the Volta Region.

Neglect and decay have become bywords that sum up the current state of the Volta Region, with the region’s hospitals symptomatic of the wider malaise that plagues the nation. God forbid any Voltarian ending up in Agortime-Ziope district hospital, for example. Lack of equipment and qualified staff renders this facility ineffective, failing to adequately serve the healthcare needs of its patients. In short, the region’s healthcare system is literally on life support.

Decrepit roads, under-resourced hospitals, fallow farms and mass unemployment, are just a few of the reasons for Voltarians to feel aggrieved with John Mahama.

Voltarians have every right to question what has happened with the funds that have been allegedly allocated for the region. Accountability is lacking and there is nothing tangible to show for all the claims of government spending on the Volta Region. Voltarians should not be fooled by the myth that John Mahama has Volta’s interest at heart – he does not!

We Voltarians would do well to question the bloated costs projects to have been executed in our region. For example, the cost of GHC90,000 for the CHPS compound facility built in Avega, in the Akatsi North district – a cost that does not correlate with the modest facility delivered. Clearly, those tasked with delivering the project were on the make and the stench of corruption looms large. The monopoly the NDC holds over the region has rendered political opposition moribund, hence scrutiny of such malfeasance is lacking.

This makes the need for Volta 4 Change all the more vital.

Voltarians are continually being patronised by supporters of John Mahama with the irritating refrain that they should be “grateful” for all that the government has supposedly done for them.

Volta 4 Change say no more. For the NDC has done nothing to justify our historical support for them. The only time they pay us any attention is when they come campaigning for our votes. It is time to leave our support where it belongs – in the dustbin of history.

Volta 4 Change says it is time to show John Mahama the red card. No longer shall we be the NDC’s political football of choice. We ask all like-minded Voltarians to join us. It is our aim to mobilise the voters of the Volta Region to ensure that Mahama and his thieving cronies are not elected in the forthcoming 2016 elections to wreak more havoc on our beloved region and its people.

We are Voltarians for real developmental change! Join us! Volta 4 Change – Press Release

Signed

Eyram Doe

Abraham Futukpor

Richard Agbeko