Former President Jerry John Rawlings has given his blessings to his daughter, Ezenator Rawlings, to contest in the forthcoming parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Osu Klottey Korley constituency in Accra.

This was during an interview with the media when he inspected ongoing dredging work in the Klortey-Korle lagoon near the Christiansburg Castle, Osu, yesterday.

Mr Rawlings indicated that Dr Ezenator’s involvement in the project did not come to him as a surprise, knowing his daughter’s charisma to embark on great adventures.

He touted her credentials as very versatile in nature and was hopeful that she would be able to stand the fierce challenges of politics in Ghana in order to make her case to win the votes.

While commending the site supervisors and the initiators of the project, the former president said he was happy about the progress of work which at the time of the visit was more than 80% complete.

He called on residents in the area to take responsibility of the project and serve as watchdogs to ensure that people do not throw refuse into the estuary, adding that if properly maintained, the estuary could serve as a marine waterfront and attract tourists to the community.

In a reaction, Dr Ezenator Rawlings debunked claims that she is not a member of the ruling party, insisting that she has been a card-bearing member of the NDC since 2006 and has been on the party’s campaign trail since 1992.

Ezenator, 37, stressed, “I know there are people who will do everything to distract me off my ambition but this is nothing to take me off the hook.”

Her campaign bothers on three thematic areas, including sanitation, employment and healthcare.

Speaking on the rationale for the project, she averred that she held meetings with the people who informed her that their greatest need was the dredging of the Klottey-Korley lagoon which comes with a huge cost.

She was, however, elated that the job was almost done.

The parliamentary aspirant stressed her commitment to mobilise residents to embark on monthly clean-up exercises to protect the beach and the lagoon.

Sometime last week, Dr Ezenator joined worshipers at Divine Salvation Ministry International in their mid-week prayer session.

Founder of the church, Bishop Nana Ofori, expressed appreciation to her for the decision to dredge the lagoon, which he said would bring a huge sigh of relief not only to the church, but the community as a whole.

The dredging of the lagoon was initiated by Dr Ezenator, in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the residents of the area.

The lagoon, according to residents, has not been dredged since 1969 and had accumulated a lot of filth, preventing the water from flowing.

The Coordinating Director of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Ayeh Dartey, who accompanied the former president on the inspection tour, said the assembly was happy to be part of the project.