Residents of the Suame constituency in the Ashanti Region have expressed anger at their Member of Parliament, Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who doubles as the majority leader in parliament for championing a course they describe as a misplaced priority, ABC News can report.
They say they want their member of parliament to focus on developing infrastructure in the constituency instead of fronting for the construction of a new parliamentary chamber.
The disappointed constituents who are largely artisans within the Suame Magazine industrial enclave say their MP only comes to the constituency when it’s time for elections. They say that what is prudent for their MP to do is for him to build factories in the constituency to facilitate their work.
They explained that they are left with no option than to carry metal scraps from Ashanti region to the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) in Tema in the Greater Accra region, for smelting. A situation they describe as frustrating
They argue that “Ghana does not need fixed assets and we now have to shift this amount of money into building fixed assets? We the people at Suame Magazine need factories. We bring scraps, and we have to carry the scraps to the Volta Aluminium company for smelting in order to get something out of it”.
They expressed their disappointment with their MP saying, “Our MP is not on top of issues. We have never seen Kyei Mensah visiting Suame Magazine. He only comes around when it’s time for elections,” one constituent said to journalists.
Suame Magazine is a vibrant industrial cluster of artisans who specialise in repairing vehicles and metal works. There are hundreds of artisans managing small and medium-scale businesses in the enclave.
The enclave trains school drop-outs and also provides attachment opportunities for students in technical, vocational schools and technical universities.
The Speaker of Parliament, Rt Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, last week unveiled the design for the New Parliamentary Chamber Block.
The unveiling was done during a courtesy call paid by a delegation from the Architectural Firm – Adjaye & Associates.
The new Chamber, with a sitting capacity of about 450 Members of Parliament, would house other facilities including diplomatic offices, a library, a museum, a church, a mosque, eateries, press conference rooms, galleries, a car park, an upper gallery garden, a post office and other facilities to complete the Parliamentary enclave.
But following pressure from civil society, media houses and a section of the Ghanaian populace, the idea has been shelved, according to acting head of Public Affairs at Parliament, Kate Addo.
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