Mr. Joseph Baanaah Dabuo, an independent parliamentary aspirant in the Lawra Constituency, says he will pursue the development of the constituency with a special focus on women and youth empowerment.
He said as a young person he understood the challenges of the youth, including unemployment, while women, who were the most vulnerable group of people in society, were not empowered enough to participate actively in social and economic activities.
Mr. Dabuo said this in Babile in the Lawra Municipality during his inaugural ceremony as an independent parliamentary candidate in the upcoming election in December 2024 to represent the Lawra Constituency in parliament on January 7, 2025.
Scores of people in the Babile zone, including traditional leaders attended the ceremony, characterised by the performance of the traditional dance of the people of Babile.
Mr. Dabuo explained that his decision to contest the election was premised on the underdevelopment of the Lawra Constituency though it was one of the oldest districts in the Upper West Region and had witnessed successive political leaders who had done little towards its development.
As part of his commitment, Mr. Dabuo said he was constructing a bridge in the Pavuu community in the Municipality to facilitate economic activities in the area.
He had also facilitated the training of some women in Zambo, Domwine and Bagre communities on soap making as a source of economic activity for them.
He was also supporting the construction of a self-initiated health facility in Orbilii, and helped rebuild a collapsed portion of the Babile Fire Service Post.
Mr. Dabuo added that he had helped fund the education of about 20 people from the municipality at the tertiary level as well as donated football jerseys to some football teams in the constituency.
He indicated that the poor state of infrastructure of the Babile Market, the poor state of the road infrastructure in the district and the lack of support to the agricultural sector by political leaders in the municipality were a few challenges he sought to address if he were given the nod.
“We have a Municipal Chief Executive and now the NPP parliamentary candidate who has the opportunity to develop the constituency, but what are we seeing, nothing.
“We have an MP in parliament who is the NDC parliamentary candidate but has lost touch with the constituents,” Mr. Dabuo stated.
He said if elected the MP for the area, he would establish a mechanisation centre in some communities in the constituency to support farmers to increase production to improving their economic status.
He said that would also motivate the youth to venture into agriculture as a source of employment and livelihoods.
Other interventions he planned for the constituency included a rural bank for Babile, completion of abandoned health projects such as a ward project at the Babile Polyclinic, and improvement of market infrastructure within the municipality.
He criticised the MCE, Mr. Jacob Dery who doubled as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate and Mr. Bede Ziedeng, the Member of Parliament for the area, for their indifferent attitude towards the development needs of the constituency.
The Babile zone declared its support for Mr. Dabuo, expressing hope that he would be the “messiah” who would save the community and the Municipality from the current development quagmire.
