Joe Nana Kobina Akwa Ghartey, the Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan Constituency, has justified his inability to develop his constituency for eight years during the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.

According to him, when he was elected in 2004 as the first Parliamentary candidate of the then newly created constituency, he told his constituents to vote for him as well as Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who was at the time, the flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) so that he would be able to help develop the constituency. But that did not happen, hence the delay in developmental works in the constituency.

“I have a very good relationship with my constituents and they understand that the eight years that the NDC was in power, I was in slavery,” he said figurately, in an interview with Citi TV on Tuesday, September 29.

When asked whether as an opposition MP, there is no development from the Central government that comes to one’s constituency, Joe Ghartey stated that, as an opposition MP under the erstwhile NDC administration, he was unable to control any developmental works within his constituency.

He explained, “They were doing road construction in Essikado. That’s where I live, it was an asphalt overlay…the junction before my house is opposite a taxi rank, when they reached that junction, they took it up. They didn’t come in front of my house […] we wanted to do a new park for Kojokrom so we went to see the chief of Kojokrom and he gave us a hill, so I used my own money to cut through the hill to prepare for a park and we lost power. One time I was passing there and I saw them building something there. I asked and nobody would tell me anything but I realised it was a CHPS compound and eight years they didn’t even finish.”

Joe Ghartey who was worried that people had been complaining about his 16 years in office said for the eight years that he was an opposition MP, he helped the constituency but it was not as it would have been if his government was in power.

“When President Kufuor came [into office the Essikado to Kojokrom road was then a bush path and I told them that when President Kufuor is elected for his second term, I’ll do the road,” Joe Ghartey who is also the Railways Minister indicated.

Joe Ghartey, in mentioning his achievement for the past 16 years in office, stated that the road from Kojokrom to Essikado which was first constructed under the erstwhile Kufuor’s administration has seen a facelift under the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration.

“We’re doing Diabenekrom, Agric and Nkorful road; we’re doing Kansawrodo to Mampong road which is about 6.5 km, we’re doing BU roads. We’re doing so many roads sometimes I even forget about it,” he added.

When asked if the roads in his constituency are his priority, Joe Ghartey stated that Essikado-Ketan is a new part of Sekondi-Takoradi and the kind of settlement within the constituency requires good roads.

He hinted of an ambulance bay which is being constructed within his constituency to contain the ambulance the government gave to the constituency.

“There is Fijai clinic. We’ve helped them over the years, we did a CHPS compound in a number of places; as I speak, we are doing another CHPS compound in Anoe. There was a place called Ahanta Abaasa we did the CHPS compound and we’re about to change it to solar[…]Kojokrom market is not what it used to be. We’ve built a small market in Ketan, as I speak, sod has been cut for the building of markets in Kansawrodo and another in Ntakorful,” he said.