The Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Mr Alhassan Azong, has said it was important for the media, civil society organizations and communities to demand accountability from MPs.

Mr Azong, who is seeking re-election, said this after he had been endorsed by popular acclamation by his party on Tuesday.

He said it was time MPs were made to render account about their stewardship to their constituencies and alleged that most MPs had failed their constituencies because most of them diverted statutory funds meant for development into their pockets at the expense of development in their communities.

”There are certain statutory funds allocated to every MP irrespective of your party to complement the development initiative of government and the district assemblies. These funds are so vulnerable that MPs can abuse them with impunity”, he said.

Mr Azong said, if all MPs were to utilize the statutory funds and other funds meant for development in their communities, there would have been massive development across the country.

He said his priority when he became the MP was to develop the human resource base of the area and so far he had used his statutory funds which include his share of the Common Fund and his personal resources to sponsor over 1,000 students.

Mr Azong said the Kanjaga Bridge, which collapsed some years back and was making transportation of goods and services from Fumbisi to the Southern sector difficult, had been rehabilitated through his share of the Common Fund.

He said the Common Fund was being used for the construction of bridges with culverts for Uasi-Fumbisi and Baasa roads in his constituency.

”The fencing of the Kunkwak and Kaseisa dams, the procurement of 40 computers, 40 hair dressing equipment, 40 sewing machines, 11 grinding mills among others were all from my Common Fund and other statutory funds.”

Mr Azong said, he secured funding from the GETFund to complete some schools in the area and mentioned them as Kalaasa, Kanjaga, Doninga, Yipaala Balerensa and Bachonsa Primary schools.

He said he also used his share of the National Health Insurance Authority Fund to complete Uasi Community Health Planning Centre, which had remained uncompleted since 1999 and Jiningsa Community Health Planning Centre.

Under the Social Intervention Fund, the MP said, he used part for the provision of solar lights to Junior High Schools and Health centres in his constituency, adding that the second tranche of the Fund would be used to build the Gbedama Market.

He said, plans were far advanced to provide a number of boreholes to communities in the constituency and that a proposal had been submitted to the Japanese government for assistance.

A market, he noted, would also be provided at Uasi and to roof the girls’ hostel at Fumbisi Senior High School which got ripped off by a windstorm.

Dr Edward Mahama, the former flag-bearer of the PNC, appealed to the people of the area to retain Mr Azong as their MP.

He expressed the hope that in the near future, the MP would become the flag-bearer of PNC since he had a lot of potential that could turn the fortunes of Ghanaians round.**