By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Oct 2, GNA – Mr Yohane Amarh Ashitey, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Tema East, has expressed confidence that he will rescue the seat from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) back to the ruling party in the December 7 general election.
The Tema East constituency, which used to be a safe seat for the NPP, went to the NDC when Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten snatched it with over 55 percent of the ballots cast in the 2020 general election.
Mr Ashitey, who is also the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, noted in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that he was poised to return the seat to the NPP as he had achieved a lot in the area in his current position.
He noted that when voted as the representative of the people of Tema East at Parliament, he would build an ultramodern library for the area to boost education and research, as well as build a community centre for the people of Tema Manhean.
He added that as part of his vision for the constituency, he would establish a youth skills training centre and support scheme to provide the youth with skills to create jobs for themselves and help employ others to reduce the unemployment rate in the area.
The NPP Parliamentary candidate added that when voted as the MP, he would lobby for a sea defence project to protect the coastline of Tema Manhean to prevent the washing away of communities and the livelihood of fishers.
Prior to his appointment as the Tema MCE, Mr Ashitey worked for 20 years in operations, rising from field Engineer to manager at Ghana Telecom, holding the record of being the youngest telecom area manager for Vodafone.
He also worked as the regional manager at Huawei Technologies in charge of Eastern and Volta regions.
Academically, he finished with first-class honours in Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and a distinction in MSc Mobile Communications from the University of East London.
On his achievements as the MCE for Tema, he disclosed that his achievements included the rehabilitation and asphalting of three kilometres of roads at the Meridian Enclave, facilitation of the construction of the Meridian Cruyff Court (mini soccer Astro turf) at Community’1, and the facelifting of the Kpotame durbar grounds.
He said others included the rehabilitation of the Tema New Town lorry station, provision of sanitary facilities for Our Lady of Mercy Senior High School (OLAMS), building of an ICT centre at Manhean Secondary Technical School, and new classroom blocks for several daycare centres and primary schools within the constituency.
Mr Ashitey said as the MCE, he had fixed and distributed street- lights across the metropolis, completed and operationalised the Manhean District Police headquarters, constructed drains, upgraded and expanded the Community Nine market, among many other projects.
The Tema East Constituency is one of the two constituencies in the Tema Metropolis and serves as the administrative headquarters of the area, with the seat of the metropolitan assembly located within the constituency.
Tema East, formerly encompassing Tema Manhean, Communities One, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, 10, 11, and 12, underwent a division, resulting in its current configuration of Tema Manhean and Community One.
The parliamentary election for Tema East is set to be a two-horse race between the NPP’s Mr Yohane Amarh Ashitey and the incumbent Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten.
Residents are set to compare the achievements of the two candidates, as both of them served as MCEs of the area.
GNA