The Member of Parliament for Sekondi, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, says he is unable to solve all the problems in the constituency even if he spends 10 decades as a MP.
According to him, the problems in the constituency are historical, which he cannot solve them all.
He said even though it is not his constitutional mandate to develop his constituency, many are of the view that it is his responsibility.
“I have not been under any illusion that I will be able to solve all problems in Sekondi even if I spend one hundred years as MP. This is because some of the problems are historical, others are present, and many are evolving. So at every point in time, there will be problems that need to be solved. God even has problems in this world, and we always go to Him pleading for our problems to be solved.
“As a Member of Parliament, I have no problems with people expecting me to develop my constituency. If that is whether that in itself within our constitutional construct is the role of the MP or not, that’s the expectation of the people because people believe I have been voted for. But in law and fact, the Metropolitan Assembly is solely responsible for the direct day-to-day development of the constituency,” he indicated.
Agyapa Mercer was commenting on concerns raised by some Sekondi youth groups who alleged that he had failed to fulfil his promise after six years he was elected Member of Parliament in the constituency.
The lawmaker also added that he does not have a budget allocated to him for the execution of developmental projects in his constituency.
“We are a developing country, so if people vote for you, they expect that their needs will be met, and if we contest elections, we make promises after looking at the environment and the needs. As an MP, I do not have a budget; I do not have any execution structure. In fact, within our local government laws, I’m only an ex-officio member of the Assembly. But in collaboration with the MMDCEs, I make sure government make provisions for all developmental needs in Sekondi,” he added.
He, however, pledged that Sekondi would be in a better place by the end of his tenure as a Member of Parliament.
Adwoa Frempomaa/ Ahotoronline.com
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