NDC La Dadekopon Primary Only Woman Contender Poised To Win Race

Ms Rita Odoley Sowah, aspiring to represent the National Democratic Congress for La Dadekotopon, says she is not only poised to be the first female legislator for the area, but also ready to rally women to bring the needed change and development. Coming into the race as the only female to run the constituency primary with five male contenders including the sitting MP, Ms Sowah said she was bringing on board grassroots political experience, exposure and good knowledge of the area and people. Speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday in Accra, she said she had joined the race to win but more importantly to effectively represent the constituency in Parliament and be able to offer solutions to the kind of change people were asking for. Nii Amasah Namoale, the current MP for the area and a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in Charge of Fisheries, is in his second four-year term hoping to win the primary again to represent the party in the 2012 December polls. But Ms Sowah said, �Women in the constituency needed to be supported and not to be sidelined to contribute their quota too, especially when our party NDC has realised the need to give women a quota in political positions,� he said. She, however, indicated that her experience and knowledge were acquired through her association with the sitting MP as well as her position within the constituency party executive arm. Today, through Ms Sowah, women in the constituency especially La, had formed an umbrella body called Dromo Traders Welfare Association, members of whom she was assisting to access Government�s credit from the MASLOC (Micro-finance and Small Loan Centre). Women empowerment through economic avenues, education of every child in the constituency and health and sanitation issues are key areas of interest to Ms Sowah, who is currently pursuing Social Work at the University of Ghana. �If you have the lobbying abilities of which I have now, you will see a lot more development in the constituency, if I am given the chance to serve my people.�I will have representatives at all party branches in order to get first hand information on the ground to ensure even development in the constituency. �Sanitation is not too good in the constituency and the way to change it is through continuous education. I will collaborate with relevant stakeholders such as Zoom Lion and other waste management companies to make the constituency a befitting place for all,� she said. �The La Market is also one of my key projects. The initial architectural design for the market will have to be looked again because the current state of the market does not befit the status of La, especially considering the calibre of people who comes to the constituency.� She said the constituency does not have much tourist attractions but the few ones such as the beaches, the Kpeshi Lagoon and the African lake, would be well developed and protected for the benefit of the people and the country if given the chance. The other four males to contest the primary slated for January 21, 2012 are Reverend Kelvin Catenor, Sowah Oblejumah, Emmanuel Odoi Yemoh, and Nii Armah.