Takoradi MP calls for technology-driven jobs, resources for Assembly Members

Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Takoradi, has called on the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) to adequately resource Assembly Members to undertake weekly sanitation exercises in their respective electoral areas.

He said providing the members with funding and equipment would strengthen community participation in sanitation management and ensure sustained efforts to maintain clean environments across the metropolis.

Mr Darko-Mnsahe made the call at the Third Ordinary Sitting of the STMA, where he also advocated direct elections of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to give citizens a direct voice in choosing their local government leaders.

He said the STMA needed to provide Assembly Members with the necessary financial and logistical support to organise weekly cleaning exercises in their electoral areas.

He noted that Assembly Members were directly connected to their communities and understood the environmental challenges confronting residents, but their ability to respond effectively could be constrained without adequate resources.

Mr Darko-Mensah said providing funds, cleaning equipment and other essential logistics would enable them to mobilise residents and coordinate regular sanitation activities.

He stressed that sanitation management should be a continuous exercise rather than an occasional activity, requiring sustained investment, community participation and effective monitoring.

The MP for Takoradi urged the Assembly to establish arrangements to support weekly cleaning exercises and ensure that resources provided to electoral areas were used effectively.

He also called for stronger collaboration among Assembly Members, environmental health officers, waste management service providers and community leaders to improve sanitation across the metropolis.

He further called for innovative approaches to job creation, particularly through technology, citing countries such as Japan and Singapore as examples of nations that had advanced through technological development.

He observed that government employment alone could not absorb the growing number of people seeking jobs, making it necessary to strengthen private-sector participation and create alternative pathways to sustainable livelihoods.

He said the experiences of Japan and Singapore demonstrated the importance of technological advancement in national development, urging Ghana to invest in innovation and create an environment in which young people could contribute meaningfully to the economy.

He stressed the need to develop youth-focused employment programmes that would equip young people with relevant skills and connect them to opportunities in emerging technology-driven industries.

Mr Okyere Darko-Mensah also mentioned the launch of the Young People’s Smart Project, an initiative expected to collate ideas from young people and explore ways to translate them into employment opportunities and personal development.

He said creating platforms for young people to share their ideas could help identify innovative solutions to community challenges while opening up opportunities for entrepreneurship and job creation.

He called for support for initiatives that would enable young people to develop their talents, apply their knowledge and participate actively in the country’s development.

Mr Okyere Darko-Mensah also advocated direct elections of MMDCEs, arguing that citizens should have the opportunity to elect their local government leaders, just as they elect the President, Members of Parliament and Assembly Members.

He said giving citizens a direct role in choosing MMDCEs could strengthen participation in local governance and increase accountability for development outcomes.

The Takoradi MP noted that local government leaders were responsible for addressing issues that directly affected residents, including sanitation, infrastructure and local economic development.

He said a direct electoral process would provide an opportunity for aspiring leaders to present their development plans to residents and be held accountable for their commitments.

Some assembly members impressed on the MP to use some portion of his common fund to buy machinery for the assembly to help in modern ways of dredging and waste management, lobby Parliament on the redevelopment of the rail lines as an alternative means to road transport, as well as support Assembly Members in fixing community streetlights in their communities.