The unprecedented 15/15 parliamentary victory of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper East Region should ultimately be measured by the development it delivers to the people, former Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr John Kingsley Krugu, has said.
Dr Krugu argues that while having all 15 Members of Parliament from the region belonging to the governing party could give the Upper East considerable influence in government, the absence of opposition MPs could also reduce the political pressure needed to demand greater attention to development concerns.
Speaking on A1 Radio monitored by BolgaFM, he explained that the 15 MPs do not have equal political influence, with some being senior political figures and others relatively new to Parliament.
“You have 15 MPs who all belong to the governing party. Within them, they have different clout. Some are bigwigs, others are newcomers,” he said.
According to him, less experienced MPs may have to depend on more influential colleagues to advance issues within government, potentially limiting how strongly some concerns are raised.
He said the presence of opposition MPs would have created an additional layer of political pressure, forcing governing-party MPs to be more vocal on issues affecting their constituents.
“If, out of the 15, you had three, four or even five opposition MPs, you would have seen that things would have been different,” Dr Krugu said.
He further argued that governments and political parties tend to pay greater attention to areas where they believe they can make electoral gains.
“Parties and governments want to go to places where they hope to have a gain,” he said, suggesting that the NDC’s overwhelming victory could make the Upper East a politically secure region.
However, Dr Krugu defended the development record of the previous NPP administration, arguing that the party delivered significant projects despite its limited parliamentary representation.
He cited the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road and other interventions, noting that the previous NPP government had only one MP from the region, who also served as a Deputy Minister.
He said the current political configuration presents the Upper East with a different and potentially more powerful position, with several MPs and senior political figures occupying influential positions in government.
Dr Krugu believes the region must therefore turn its unprecedented political influence into tangible development outcomes.
He called for stronger advocacy, accountability and collective leadership to ensure that the 15/15 mandate translates into projects and interventions that directly improve the lives of residents.
Source: bolgafmonline.com |102.7 MHz| Bolgatanga
