Don Emmanuel Agbanyo, a.k.a NEXT MP, a Ketu North National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate hopeful, says his ambition is to create markets and financial systems to transform Ketu North’s rural economy if elected the Party’s Candidate and later Member of Parliament for the area.

He said the creation of a viable market and financial systems, which would link the production and marketing of farm produce was the way to create jobs and curb youth unemployment in the Municipality noted for agricultural production.

Don Agbanyo said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after picking nomination forms to contest the primaries for the third time.

He said it was unfortunate that though the Municipality was noted widely in the West African sub-region for the production and marketing of exclusive quality palm oil, gari and rice, the people, mainly the youth and women, remained poor and said his aim was to change the narrative and open up the Municipality for rapid socio-economic growth.

He said it was high time Weta, Penyi, Afife and Dzodze, the capital of Ketu North, became the commercial hub of the Volta Region leveraging the passage of the ECOWAS International Highway through it, linking Ghana and the neighbouring Republic of Togo, and said that was going to be one of his priorities – taking advantages under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to make the area a market Centre.

Don Emmanuel Agbanyo, a Real Estate Developer, said he had engaged some investors who were ready to invest in irrigation and to support agro-processing industries taking advantage of the Ohawu Agriculture College in the Municipality.

He said once the Municipality was able to produce enough to feed itself and market through AfCFTA and local markets in Ghana, the rural economy would expand with opportunities for the service sectors-health and education.

He said his policy of “Education First” was to encourage and empower all, especially girls to be in school and said he would organise regular competitions for pupils and students from basic to tertiary level towards making Ketu North an education tourism Centre.

He said he would initiate various training schemes for traders, artisans and people in the transport business to make their enterprises self-sustaining.

Don said 2024 offered a new dawn for Ketu North, saying he was ready to give his all to transform the Municipality with opportunities for the young, medieval and the old and urge the delegates to vote for him.

At the close of the opening of nomination, ten persons, nine males and one female, have picked forms to contest the NDC Ketu North Constituency primaries.

They are Don Emmanuel Agbanyo, Afetsi Awoonor, Gabriel Kwamigah and Wisdom Nyamuame.

The rest are Dr Donald Senanu Agumenu, Mr Prosper Ledi, Mr Leonard Nyakpo, Edem Agbana, Francis Seglah and John Adanu.

Dr James Avedzi, the current MP, who is also the Chairman of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, is not contesting.