The Western Regional Chapter of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) has begun the first of a series of town hall meeting engagements aimed at providing electorates with the appropriate platform to channel their developmental needs of those aspiring to political office in the Western region.
The first of the series was held at the Sekondi constituency was held on Friday August 9 2024, drawing all the various constituents as well representatives from the NPP and the NDC.
The town hall meeting, forms part of the GJA’s “Western Region Manifesto Project”, being implemented under the theme: “Harnessing Digital Journalism for Informed Political Dialogue and Manifesto Scrutiny.”
The 10-month project, is being implemented with funding support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), to help empower the electorate to demand good governance and development in their communities.
Various constituents in taking their turns , mirrored issues bordering on employement, security , sanitation among others .
Madam Mavis Mensah, a resident from Sekondi, complained of poor sanitation within her community and called on authorities to address the issue.
She also called for the renovation of the Sekondi railway station and market centre to help boost the economic situation in the constituency.
Abraham Mensah who is the project lead for Western Region Manifesto’s project. He explained that “the aim of this project is to give opportunity to constituents to voice out their issues for us to put it on records both hard and soft copies and handover to the parliamentary candidates so that whoever wins the elections will go by that template developed by Western Region Journalists Association.”
On the sidelines of the event , the Western Regional Chairman of the Federation of Persons with Disability, Richard Asare called on citizens to approach this year’s election with mindset of peace and tolerance .
“Do not allow any politician to bribe you into doing something that will derail the peace and stability of the nation, because Ghana is all that we have,” he noted.
The next stop of the Western Region Manifesto Project is at the Effia constituency on Friday August 16,2024.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kobina Amuah
