The Assembly member for the Tatanaa Electoral Area in the La Nkwantanang Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, Hanson Tei Madjitey-Gizo, has advised against excessive politicisation of the assemblies, and the work of the assembly members.
He said the politicisation of the assembly will divide members, and to a large extent affect the needed collective development of the municipality.
According to him, although there is a perception of assembly members as being sympathetic to one political party or the other, it has not negatively affected their work and not caused any division.
Speaking during a clean-up exercise organised on Saturday, March 2, 2024, in his electoral area, which saw the desilting of drains, clearing of roadside weeds and the sweeping of filthy places, Madjitey-Gizo indicated that there are other priority sectors he intends to tackle and therefore politicising what he is doing will not help the cause.
The assemblyman, who is a first-timer, further said that despite his association with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), some known elements of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) also voted for him, which shows how people are interested in competence and capabilities to deliver.
“They looked at my capabilities and what I can bring to the electoral area and they voted for me. They didn’t look at my party affiliation," he noted.
This, he further explained, is one of the reasons the election to serve at the various district assemblies should not be on party lines.
“Coming together will help bring development. For example, on a day like this, if it is politicised, we would have had only NDC people coming to clean, but that was not the cause and more especially when the problem affects everybody," he pointed out.
This particular exercise was a departure from the manual way, as it involved the use of trucks and backhoes for effective desilting.
The drain in front of the Presec Staff Primary School towards the Rawlings Circle was de-silted.
With the desilting, the area which usually floods in the rainy season, is likely to be saved from any such catastrophe soon.
The exercise was also targeted at whipping up the sense of communal labour among the residents.
Aside from the challenge of sanitation, he told journalists that unemployment is another worrying concern for him and he has taken steps to also address it.
For a start, he said he has personally employed some youth in the area as a way of reducing the increasing rate of unemployment.