Distribution of development projects will be even - Hohoe MP
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She said the most deprived communities would be the first to benefit from development projects since the rural areas were the greatest hit in terms of poverty, deprivation and squalor.
In an interview at the weekend, she pledged to use her expertise in rural development to speed up development projects in her constituency.
She identified the development of Wli waterfalls, construction of road networks as well as the early completion of the Eastern Corridor trunk road as some of the high-profile projects she would prioritise for lobbying.
Dr Heloo said that the Wli Waterfalls, if fully developed, could attract tourists, both domestic and foreign, thereby helping to improve the social and economic lives of the people.
She said that a lot had been done to open the Wli waterfalls as a first-class tourist site but more needed to be done to improve the road infrastructure.
She also mentioned road infrastructure projects as vital to impact positively on the lives of the people, especially the early completion of the ongoing Eastern Corridor trunk road which passes through the catchment area of the constituency
The MP also disclosed that plans were far advanced to explore sister-city programmes between the Hohoe municipality and other cities in the USA.
Dr Heloo, who is also the Deputy Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovations, said she was also in contact with her colleagues both at various sector ministries and in Parliament to help bring rapid development to her constituency.
The MP said that plans were also at an advanced stage for the establishment of craft villages as job opportunities for the youth to engage in carving. She added that there were ready markets for artefacts, and that if the craft village was set up it would go a long way to help raise the standards of living.
The MP said she believed in running an open system where funds provided for development would be used in a transparent manner so that the people in the constituency would not have cause to complain.
She explained that with an open mind, people, especially the youth, would feel free to come and share their views and in so doing they would contribute to the development of their areas in particular and the country as a whole.,
She said everyone in the constituency, whether old or young, ought to be given the opportunity to participate in decision making since no had a monopoly over ideas and development, add that development must be given the bottom-up approach and not paternalist.
The deputy minister also said already she had established a constituency office at Hohoe, and that more offices would be opened in the wards of the constituency to ensure free flow of information from the constituents.
Dr Heloo advised the people and chiefs in her constituency not to have their hopes and confidence shattered but believe that good tidings were ahead.
Already, she said the planning process had started and called on her constituents to work as a team in improve living standards in the area.
Dr Heloo stressed that she was ever prepared to complement the roles and initiatives undertaken by the people to ensure rapid development of the Hohoe municipality, saying she was ready to listen to their advice and make corrections wherever she went wrong.
Story: Abdul Aziz