Muntaka In Trouble

Posted:Daily Guide |Tuesday, 08 June 2010


By Charles Takyi-Boadu
AFTER FAILING to secure the position of National Youth Organizer of his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mohammed Abdulai Mubarak aka Ras Mubarak is considering the option of running for parliament.

He is currently torn between two constituencies, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak’s Asawasi seat and Justice Joe Appiah’s Ablekuma North seat.

“I am still in consultation with constituents and will have to decide on whether or not to contest Hon. Muntaka Mubarak for the Asawasi constituency or Hon. Justice Joe Appiah for the Ablekuma North constituency,” he told DAILY GUIDE exclusively.

Though he believes his extensive stay in both constituencies and his popularity would enable him to win the seat, Ras Mubarak is also contemplating whether to contest on the ticket of the NDC or run as an independent candidate.

He said at the “appropriate time” he will make an official announcement regarding which constituency he would run for at the primaries and whether it will be as an independent contender.

Should he win the primaries and subsequently either of the two parliamentary seats, the youth activist said “my priority would be to serve the interest of my constituents. Unlike many MPs who conveniently stay out of touch with their constituents, I would engage my constituency through a series of monthly town hall meetings to find solutions to issues affecting the constituency.”

For him, the issue of flooding in the Ablekuma North is a pressing one that needs quick attention.

Though the NPP has held the Ablekuma North seat for years, he said it has been unable to fight for the interest of constituents and hopes win the seat for the NDC.

Another thing on his mind is to fight for the total independence of the legislature. “It is in the interest of parliament to elect one of its members as a Speaker. MPs have a better understanding of how parliament works and bringing in an outsider smacks of an imposition by the executive.”

He believes it is high time people who live off the public purse make some sacrifices just as other Ghanaians do when they struggle to commute to and from work using a broken down transportation system.

“If MPs queued for vehicles to and from work like real Ghanaians do they might have a sense of what their constituents go through and would spend time focusing on real issues and less on the frills,” he noted.
In that regard, he stressed the urgent need to improve the country’s transportation system for politicians to also use it.