Thursday, September 16, 2010

FACES OF FEMALE ASPIRANTS IN ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS (PAGE 11, SEPT 16, 2010)

MRS Haulatu Abubakari, a teacher in the Northern Region, holds the conviction that women, when given adequate representation in governance, could transform the lives of people in their communities.
She said women had the patience, ingenuity and willingness to go the extra mile to improve on the lives of others.
With the belief in her own ability to promote development in her community, Mrs Abubakari has decided to contest this year’s assembly elections in the Kamina/Zagyuri Electoral Area in the Tamale metropolis.
If given the nod, Mrs Haulatu said she would work towards securing the social, economic and political well-being of her community, particularly the youth, women and children.
Her interventions would include enhancing the income earning capacities of the youth and women. She said she would do this by working together with non-governmental organisations and state institutions that provide micro-credit to extend such facilities to the people.
“I would also ensure that the beneficiaries engage in viable ventures to enable them to repay such credit facilities,” she added.
Another intervention dear to her heart is education. Mrs Haulatu says she will intensify the campaign for girl-child education and also impress upon the assembly to improve educational facilities in her community.
She also has plans to improve sanitation in her electoral area by partnering the assembly to provide and maintain sanitation facilities and also organise regular clean-up exercises.
Mrs Haulatu hopes to achieve all these, not by her own might, but in partnership with the chiefs, opinion leaders, political leaders and other stakeholders.
She has, therefore, appealed to all people in the Kamina/Zagyuri Electoral Area to test her ability by electing her as their representative in the assembly.

Ms Theresa Mensah, the Assembly Member for Korle Bu Electoral Area in the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), is contesting the seat for the third consecutive time. Although she described the work of the assembly as tedious, she said she was committed to continue working assiduously to serve the people, despite the challenges.
She has, therefore, appealed to the electorate to vote for her to enable her to continue with the good work.
She said her work as an assembly member had not been easy over the past eight years as a result of apathy on the part of some residents and financial challenges. She, however, commended the AMA for instituting a common fund for assembly members and said the fund had helped her in executing projects in the area.
She mentioned the fixing of more than 100 street lights at various parts of the community to light up the area in the night to improve on security in the area.
She said she had also constructed a 12-seater bath house for the Korle Bu Police Station, and distributed mosquito nets to pregnant women in support of the fight against the spread of malaria. She called for support to enable her to provide streetlights for the Korle Bu Nurses Flats to beef up security in the area and ward off miscreants.
She said some drains and streets in the area also needed to be rehabilitated and appealed for assistance to execute those projects.
Asked how she was able to win the confidence of the electorate who voted for her in 2002 and 2006, she said she had cultivated a cordial relationship with the people, who freely communicated their problems to her and contacted her at all times for assistance and resolution of their problems.
She, therefore, appealed to the electorate to vote for her to continue with her good works and advised women intending to contest in the upcoming elections to be convinced of the importance of their cause and their inalienable rights as human beings to be accorded equal access and opportunity in governance, politics and the development agenda of the country.

Mrs Sampo Elizabeth Anamabiak is a teacher who intends to contest the assembly elections for the Nawuni/Afayili Electoral Area in the Tolon/Kumbungu District of the Northern Region. She said the capacity of women to facilitate development in their communities would only be proven if they were given the opportunity to participate in governance.
According to the aspirant, she has built her capacity enough “to take the driver’s seat” in helping her people escape poverty.
She said when elected into office, her major priority would be to transform the lives of women and the youth, since they formed the majority of the population in her community.
“I want to empower them to engage in economically viable ventures so as to enable earn counterparts to take care of their families,” she stated.
She said there were a lot of skills training programmes being spearheaded by the government and the private sector and that she would work towards making those programmes accessible to her community.
Mrs Anamabiak said she would also work hand in hand with the assembly to improve the education of children, particularly the girl-child.
Again, she said she would work with other women in the community to build their capacity to contest future elections and take leading roles in local and national governance.
Mrs Anamabiak said her major challenge was finance, but expressed hope that the electorate would give her the mandate to enable her to make meaningful impact on their lives.

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