Mr. Carlos Ahenkorah, Member of Parliament for Tema West, says he will prioritise human development in 2022 to provide skills training for his constituents.
He said he would also create for them, an enabling environment to spur them on to lead purposeful and dignified lives.
The move, he said, sought to, among other objectives, empower the youth with the needed skills to create meaningful life for themselves and ultimately propel the development of Tema West.
The MP, outlining the prospects of the constituency for the new year, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said, despite the challenges of COVID-19, the constituency had witnessed significant infrastructural growth, adding that human development would be prioritised in 2022.
He said: “In 2021, we had at least five skills development training sessions with support from NBSSI which provided training for over 5,000 youth especially females to acquire hands-on skills in entrepreneurship and 10 other disciplines. This year, 2022, there will be artisanal training for males.”
From the first week of January 2022, Mr. Ahenkorah said, there would be a free two-week Information Technology Education Forum with focus on Microsoft Tools, graphic designing, and hardware to train the youth to acquire skills and promote entrepreneurship and innovation.
He noted that 2021 had been a hectic year because of the effects of COVID-19 pandemic, adding that not so much was expected in terms of drastic change and development, albeit some deliberate efforts had been made to keep the economy running.
Despite that, he said the Tema West Constituency managed to consolidate the gains made in the past, stressing that some projects that he had initiated as MP, particularly the “One School One Canteen Project, ”were progressing steadily with eight of those at various stages of completion in public schools.
In 2021 for instance, he said, he commenced construction of ultra-modern Astroturf Projects in selected areas of the Tema West Constituency including the Mexico Park in Community Two, Sakumono Village and Baatsona.
According to Mr. Ahenkorah, as part of efforts to ensure that the needs of constituents were met, a needs assessment had been conducted, and it had been resolved that by the end of 2022, the Sakumono Village, Wolei Electoral Area, would have a new Community Centre.
“This year, we are also considering the construction of more school blocks to augment those already existing in areas where there are overflows as far as student enrollment is concerned,” he said.
Through requests made to some companies, including Cargill Ghana, there was an ongoing six-unit classroom block with auxiliary facilities at the Adjei Kojo community, where there was currently only one public school serving the entire school-going populace.
“We used to have only one SHS in the Constituency, but I managed to get the Education Ministry to complete the E-Block project started under the previous government and thankfully, we have a full-fledged SHS in that community,” he stressed.
The MP, also the Chairperson for the Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee of Parliament, expressed optimism that amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which had affected global economies including Ghana, some progress was being made in the country’s development.
He called on the citizenry to work with the Government in its development efforts and further urged them to be patient as the government was working tirelessly to address their concerns.
“In 2022, with the position and direction the Government has taken, with regards to wealth creation and revenue generation, I am certain that a lot of the challenges will be resolved,” he said.