I'm working towards making Ho Central smart constituency — Kpodo

Mr Benjamin Komla Kpodo, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho Central, has said the constituency had made giant strides in infrastructural development and could become the first "smart constituency" under his leadership.

He said having supported infrastructural projects in health, education, water and sanitation, and road construction, his vision was to rebrand the constituency as a ‘smart enclave’ using technology to stimulate rapid development.

Mr Kpodo, who is also the Deputy Ranking Member, Local Government and Rural Development, said this at a media encounter, which also coincided with the launch of a brochure documenting all development projects and programmes during his tenure as MP from 2013 till date.

It is titled: ‘Moving Ho Central Constituency Forward for more Development.’

The 32-page document shows projects spanning health, community development and engagements, sanitation, roads, donations, with education topping the list.
Mr Kpodo is facing five others at the primaries on the NDC ticket.

Smart constituency

He said the ‘Smart Ho Central Constituency’ project in his next term would entail the deployment of Information and Communication Technology to solve the myriad of problems such as sanitation and waste management, making the regional capital a destination of choice for local and foreign tourists.

He said he had started by expanding a library constructed in Ho by Joy FM, an Accra-based radio station, into e-library.
Human development and support for agriculture were also a priority to grow the local economy and create jobs, he said.

Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzra, the MP for Ho-West, who launched the brochure, said: “Mr Kpodo is an undisputed pillar for the Finance Committee, an asset to Parliament, Volta Caucus and the people of the Ho Central Constituency.”

Supreme Court case

“The landmark Supreme Court case initiated and won by Mr Kpodo and Mr Richard Quarshigah, NDC MP for Keta, for the capping of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and the exclusion of other tax revenues in the calculation were strides for which you need him back in Parliament.”

Mr Bedzra said any journey started needed to be completed and urged the delegates to vote for the incumbent MP.
He said MPs were known in the past as law makers but the dynamics had changed making them development champions through a percentage of the DACF.

Mr Harrison K. Belley, the Head of Department, Governance Studies, Evangelical Presbyterian University College, said the attrition rate in Parliament was a worry and that experience was necessary in parliamentary work. - GNA