Accra, Sept 14, GNA - Dr Mrs Gladys Norley Ashietey, Deputy Minister of Health on Saturday said a modern health facility would be constructed at Teshie to facilitate access to healthcare by the people. "The land for the project has been acquired and recently President John Agyekum Kufuor went to China to sign all the agreement documents concerning the contract".

Dr Ashietey, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ledzokuku Constituency, said this during the inauguration of an 11-member executive of the Royal Elephant Club, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) youth club at Teshie on Saturday. It has Mr Kwabena Mensah, a businessman, as the chairman.

She said through her instrumentality, the Krowor (Nungua) and Ledzokuku (Teshie) Constituencies now had a Municipal Assembly, which would take care of the developmental needs of the area. "Unlike hitherto when I had to always be at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), persuading it to have a look at the needs of the people in the two constituencies, which always proved futile, now the Assembly is going to have its own budget to undertake projects to improve the living conditions of the people," she said.

Dr Ashietey said Teshie and Nungua had benefited enough from the NPP especially through the government's capitation grant, free healthcare for pregnant women, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and free travelling of pupils on the Metro Mass Transport. The MP said through her initiative, 160 nurses had been trained under the Youth Employment Programme and more would be trained to enhance the number of nurses in the health sector.

Dr Ashietey urged the youth to be focused and sell the achievements of the NPP government to the people so that they would vote massively for the party to continue with its good works.

She said as humans, one was bound to make mistake and therefore, if she had offended anybody during her tenure of office both as an MP and a doctor, she should be forgiven.

Mr Sam Laryea, Lecturer at Unique International College, Accra and Chairman of the occasion said the NPP believed in development in freedom and as such there had been massive changes in the socio-economic lives of the people.

He said: "We have now got many newspapers and FM radio stations all round where people express their views without fear of incarceration, torture and intimidation. Freedom is at the doorsteps of every Ghanaian."

Mr Laryea said government's policies like the capitation grant, school feeding programme, free bus service for school children, the NHIS and free medical care for pregnant women, when converted into cash, was money in people's pocket.

"This is a government which believes in democracy and development and a government that must be retained in power to take care of the people."

He advised supporters of the party to gird their loins to go to every corner of the constituency and the country to win votes for the party. Mr Laryea who led the 11-member executive of the club, to swear an oath of office for a four-year term, said the executive should see the positions they occupied as a springboard where they could nurture their political career as towards positions like Assembly members, MPs, ministers and presidents. He said they ought to sacrifice their time to serve the club, sharpen their communication skills and information management so as to know what to say and at what time. Mr Laryea urged them to eschew favouritism and discrimination and give equal opportunity and good treatment to every member.

Mr Williams Godzo, General Secretary of the Club said the club which started with 120 members, now had 800 members, and appealed to the constituency and national executives of the NPP to supply the Club with bicycles, motorbikes, T-shirts and money to enable the foot soldiers to undertake effective house-to-house campaigning. He said the aim of the club was to win floating voters for the party adding that the party would win both presidential and parliamentary election.

Mr Kwabena Mensah, in his acceptance speech, pleaded with the constituency executive to come to their aid in terms of finance and logistics to make their work easier. He also pleaded with members of the club to "let by-gone be by-gone and instead come together in unity to win the elections come December 2008."

The other executive members are Ms Monica Mintah, Founder; Mr Norbert Tetteh, Vice Chairman; Mr Mark Obeng, Financial Secretary, Gladys Fiamodzie, Treaurer; Ms Comfort Peasah, Women's Organiser; Mr Kwabena Opoku, Public Relations Officer and Mr Opoku Michael, Porter. 14 Sept. 08