By: Romeo Adzah Dowokpor/The Republic

The parliamentary candidate of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Kingsley Kwame Awuah-Darko, has registered 11,135 people in the constituency for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to access quality healthcare.

Out of the total number of beneficiaries, only 1,136 had their NHIS cards renewed. The distribution of 10, 746 of the cards started last Saturday at Roman Ridge and Tesano and will continue until all the 21 communities are covered in the constituency.

“I have been motivated to embark on this philanthropic project because of my mother’s foundation’s (JEAD Breast Cancer Foundation) involvement in helping women with the treatment of breast cancer especially the underprivileged ones and it really opened my eyes to their plights”, he told The Republic.

He furthered stated that most of the sicknesses that people suffer from could have received the necessary medical attention but their victims for fear of losing their little capital budgeted for family upkeep and on other basic expenses to medical bills, refuse to seek medical care until their ailments become terminal hence the result of most needless deaths across the country.

Mr. Awuah-Darko also affirmed his commitment to making sure the project continues by bringing many more people in his constituency on board to access quality healthcare through the NHIS and added that his “intervention is a genuine heartfelt concern especially for those in need and it is also incumbent of me as a social democrat to give back to society and care for the masses”.

On the thorny issue of graduate unemployment, the parliamentary candidate stated that he has developed a flagship project for students of University of Ghana which falls under his constituency on a mentorship programme for the acquisition of social and life skills where 1000 accomplished hands rich in human resource would be drawn from diverse backgrounds to serve as volunteers in mentoring five students each for six times in a year.

“The project would train and prepare about 120,000 students in four years and would have adequately resourced them (students) after graduation to think on their feet and become more useful to the nation with most of them starting their own businesses having acquired entrepreneurial skills from some of these mentors”, Mr. Awuah-Darko disclosed.

The NDC parliamentary candidate also stated that as part of his campaign of harnessing and developing the potentials of the people of Ayawaso West Wuogon especially the youth in the arena of sports , he has instituted a community football league for 16 clubs with the tournament starting off this weekend.

This he noted would not be an ordinary football competition but also the incorporation of teaching, learning and mentoring to the participating teams by engaging them positively in receiving training from experienced hands some of whom are national football heroes and added that it would be extended beyond football to other sporting disciplines.

He observed that even though the basic responsibility of a Member of Parliament has more do to with legislation, speaking on behalf of his constituents and also lobbying for developmental projects, he (MP) must also see himself as a community leader who can and must do other things in addressing some of their needs, hence his intervention in some of these projects in his capacity as an aspiring MP who would even do more after they voted for him to represent them in Parliament.

He appealed to Ghanaians to come out in their numbers to vote massively for President John Mahama on December 7 because he represents their hopes and aspirations.