Blondys233

TeamSly visited fellow comrades at the Ridge Hospital who were involved in a car accident on their way to the just ended party National Delegates Congress on Saturday 17th November, 2018.
We prayed and wished them speedy recovery.

The Great Togetherness

New Year‘s Day 1998, which is justifiably an occasion for merrymaking and reunion of family and friends, saw me host a buffet, which I christened ‗the Great Togetherness.‘ It took place poolside at the Labadi Beach Hotel. I considered the Great Togetherness an apt title for that gathering because it saw the coming together of prominent sons and daughters of the Dadekotopon constituency, without recourse to party or religious colours.

In attendance were many key Ghanaians of the time: Hon. Nuamah Donkor, Minister of
Health; Mr Joshua Alabi, MP for Krowor; Hon, Peter Ala Adjetey, a leading member of the
NPP, who eventually became Speaker of Parliament when his party came to power in 2000; Nii
Adjei-Boye Sekan, a presidential staffer and MP for Ledzokuku; Dr Charles Mensah, Resident
Director of VALCO; Hon. Amarkai Amarteifio, former Minister of Youth and Sports and
Consular-General for Sweden; Lt Col I.B. Quartey, a prominent army officer; and Hon. Sherry
Aryeetey, General Manager of GIHOC Distilleries. The occasion was also graced by prominent representation from the La Traditional Council. Everybody was dressed to the nines, the atmosphere was lively, and a spirit of great camaraderie pervaded the event. Because I wanted to stay local and keep things within the constituency as much as possible, our sources of entertainment were also products of Dadekotopon: the Black Berets Band and the Recce Ladies Cultural Troupe, both from Burma Camp, a suburb within the constituency. Food and drinks abounded, as the General Manager of the hotel led his team to make sure that particular aspect of the function was very well taken care of.
At exactly 7.20 p.m., I picked up the microphone to give my welcome address. I made it quite brief and precise; as such occasions did not call for long and winding speeches. Among other things, I gave an account of service to my electorate in the two years I had held office.

I touched on the road reconstruction project that was on going, as well as the Polyclinic and the need for an upgrade. (I had hounded the sector minister over it long enough. I also spoke about the Dadekotopon Educational Trust Fund and explained that the beneficiary ratio was what made the DETF stand out from other similar schemes. I explained that unlike other funds, the DETF was not limited to natives of La but open to all who were resident in the constituency, irrespective of where they hailed from. Other projects very dear to my heart, and which I was assiduously tackling at the time, were also mentioned. Among them were the reconstruction of the La Market, a poverty alleviation scheme for the constituency, issues concerning unemployment and sanitation at La. I disclosed to the gathering how I had committed
GH¢2000.00 of the MP‘s share of the Common Fund to a poverty alleviation loan scheme of which the La GPRTU, La Cane Weavers Association, and other unit traders, as well as individuals, had already been beneficiaries. I also mentioned in my address that even though the get-together was as much as possible devoid of sophistication and formalities, and even though it shied away from matters that divided us, it would undoubtedly afford some of the younger ones
at the gathering the opportunity and privilege of hearing and learning from the more experienced and knowledgeable men and women among us. And so it did!

[This series is an excerpt from my book. “In the Shadows of Politics” – Reflection from My Mirror. Page 91 - 93]