Ishmael Ashitey to contest coming elections

Tema, Jan. 14, GNA -- Mr Ishmael Ashitey, Member of Parliament of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Tema East, has declared his intention to seek re-election.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Tema, he said he would win the seat for the fourth time because "the constituents have confidence in me".

Mr Ashitey said he had maintained his silence all this while because "I was studying the ground before coming out".

He said he had under taken a lot of projects from his share of the MPs Common Fund and mentioned some of them as the Youth Training Centre, Post Office, places of convenience, rehabilitation of schools, canteens and the provision of dual desks for a number of schools.

Mr Ashitey said the training centre had not been operational since its inauguration in 2004 because its administration ran into problems but has now been resolved and would start work soon.

He said he did not concentrate on monetary donations because he aimed at executing physical structures that would be beneficial to the present and future generations rather than satisfying individuals. Reacting to accusations that his projects were not enough, he said MPs were not responsible for executing development projects as that was the duty of Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies.

Mr Ashitey said when given the nod for the fourth time, he faced the challenge of constructing a landing site for fishermen in the constituency.

Mr Ashitey faces stiff competition from two men who have declared their intention to contest the primaries. They are Mr Daniel Titus-Glover, a Labour Consultant, and an Educationist, Mr Ramseyer Agyeman Prempeh.