Politics of Monday, 30 August 2010

Source: GNA

Accept or reject politicians based on their promises

Kaira, (V/R) Aug. 30 GNA - Communities have been urged to accept or reject politicians according to how far they have gone in fulfilling their earlier promises to them.

The Reverend Stephen Gaitu of the Bethel Deliverance Centre gave the advice when he addressed the Chiefs and people of Kaira on the 46th Anniversary of their resettlement, following the creation of the Volta Lake.

The occasion was to serve as a platform for the community to interact with government officials, their Member of Parliament (MP) and the VRA Resettlement Fund Board and raise funds towards their development.

They were appreciative of the presence of the Deputy Volta Regional Minister Colonel Cyril Necku (rtd) and the South Dayi District Chief Executive Mr Senanu Bekui and their assurances on behalf of the government.

They were, however, unhappy that their Member of Parliament (MP) and the VRA Resettlement Fund Board were absent with without any assigned reasons.

Rev. Gaitu said the trading in promises was normal in politics but could be used as a trap for the votes of people who are gullible.

He called for unity among the communities displaced by the Volta Lake in South-Dayi so that they could speak with a stronger voice and be taken seriously.

Rev. Gaitu called on parents in Kaira to sacrifice the limited resources available to them to educate their children who must also seize every opportunity to climb the education ladder to escape from the clutches of poverty.

In a speech, the assemblyman for the area, Mr John Ahorsu, said there was an urgent need for government to extend pipe-borne water to Kaira and other resettlement communities in the area.

He said until the creation of the Volta Lake in 1960s Kaira used to be a thriving community where cash crops such as cocoa, coffee, rubber, food crops and varieties of fruits and spices brought enough income to the people.

Mr Ahorsu appealed to the government to pay compensation to the people of Kaira for the land it took from that community and other displaced communities.

The government should also undertake major developmental initiatives to the alleviate poverty and deprivation imposed on the people by circumstances that were not their making.