Goodness Begets Goodness: The Indigenes Of Afram Plains Reveal
By: Raymond Obeng, CEMPA Graduate, KNUST, Ghana.
Goodness, they say, begets goodness. We scratch those who scratch our back. This has been the order of the day in the political lives of the voters living on the Afram Plains in the Eastern Region of Ghana. They have fully resorted to casting their votes massively in favour of the ruling party in every electioneering year, and the 2012 election was not an exception.
If you have ever pantooned on River Afram from Ekye Amanfrom to Adawso, or the vice versa, you will realize that what the indigenes did on the election day is no news, putting into consideration the massive infrastructural developments on, in and around the river, and the quickest response given to address the transportation needs of the people to ensure the safety of residents, farmers and other workers, and travelers and tourists in that area. Also, the current beautification of both shores and resting places, and the construction of well-cemented defence system have helped to fine-tune the minds of voters over these few years that the NDC Party has been in power. The people have solidly rallied behind the party’s quest to prosecute their Better Ghana Agenda.
Listening to some never-ending political discussions on our Kufour Metro Busses which are properly managed in the area by the Metro Mass Management Team, I came to fathom deep that the people have never been ingrate, and for that matter, forgotten about the electrification project that the former President Rawlings through his government’s policy of rural transformation established across the river to give electricity to the people. This has helped to create more jobs and increased the production of goods and services on the plains. ‘’This gesture by J.J Rawlings has indelibly stayed in the blood of the indigenes here, and as a result showcased its power in the voting attitude of the men and women here , and their offspring’’ , one discussant remarked.
Likewise, in other electoral areas in the country, these projects are not enough to ensure the well-being of the citizenry. Governments need to do more for the very people who vote them into office. Former Presidents Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufour, and John Evans Attah Mills have done what they could do to bring some economic recovery to the people of Ghana. It therefore rests on the shoulders of the government in power to deal with the injustices and the poverty that have bedeviled the people on the plains and its surroundings over the years.
Truth hurts, but equally, truth has always proven to heal. I believe that the style of voting of the dwellers on the Afram Plains indicates that they vote to say ‘Thank You’ to those politicians who have always had them at heart, and have been their political Messiahs in the times of difficulties. In this world, the precious gold sells great, and the pearls among the beads do not boast about themselves. The people have spoken, and their views must be respected.
Politics, methinks, should be about putting the interests of the electorates and the citizenry as a whole above the interests of those in authority, and restoring the dignity and worth of the people. The word to the wise is undoubtedly enough. May the Most High God bless Mother Ghana, and continue to make the country the beacon of hope of Africa.