WHY DO KEEA VOTE FOR A DOCTOR?

Lina Paulitsch (Global Volunteer Projects) & Allan Paintsil

On December 7^th, the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem constituency’s election will determine the Member of Parliament. In recent years, a considerable ‘requirement’ has been silently established: all of the Members had a doctorate degree.

Why is it that the constituency’s  population keeps voting for doctors? Here are some facts to the highly important area.

The Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem District is located next to the Twifu-Hemang-Lower-Denkyira District in the north, the Cape Coast Municipality in the east and the Mophor West District in the west. The District capital is Elmina.

Its size is about 372.49sq km and the proportion of land area to the Region is 1:20. The area is a plain with isolated hills (e.g. Around Kissi) and underlined by Birrimian rocks. Many years of extensive erosion have reduced the land to uniformly low heights of between 250 and 300 metres above sea level. Along the coast, one can find a series of lagoons and marshy areas into which a number of rivers and streams draining the area flow.

Both the dry equatorial and the wet semi-equatorial zone influence the climate. Both zones experience relatively similar temperature conditions throughout the year:  The average annual temperature varies between 29 degrees C (March-July) and 24 degrees C (August-February).  The differences between the two climatic zones basically result in rainfall, which ranges from 100cm along the coast to about 150cm or more in the interior. Both areas have a major season (May-July) and a minor season (September-October), where the rainfall doubles. The relative humidity is between 60 and 90 per cent and drops to between 50 and 70 per cent during the Harmattan period of November to January.

The districts labour force is with 65 per cent dominated by the male population. About  48 per cent of the total population are engaged in agriculture.  Women mainly work in agriculture and trading.

Main economic activities are fishing, farming and related activities like agro-processing, salt mining and quarrying. Within the coastal savannah, sugar cane cultivation is very important. Known for its fishing boats, Elmina has the second largest port in the country with about 924 canoes and 50 in-shore vessels. The district contributes about 15 per cent of the country’s total fish output.  The most common fish include herrings, mackerel, tuna, lobsters, shrimps, barracuda and many others. An annual of 130,000 tonnes of fish is traded in the Elmina area. The district further offers many mineral resources, such as Gold, Granite, Diamond, Clay, Felspar and Quartz.

The district has 31 km of asphalt roads and 1556.7 km of feeder roads. The main road is the Accra-Cape coast-Takoradi part, which is part of the Trans-West African Highway. It is linked by a number of second and third class roads to the settlements in the district. Under the decentralisation policy of the government, the district Assembly in collaboration with the Departement of Feeder Roads have opened access roads to settlements hitherto inaccessible. Many roads which were abandoned have also been rehabilitated to serve the transport needs of the people.

The district proudly boasts of two historical attractions, the Elmina Castle and fort St. Jago that have been designated as World Heritage Monuments by the World Heritage Foundation under UNESCO. The Dutch cemetery, built in the nineteenth century, contains the graves of former Governors of the Castle as well as prominent local citizens. Furthermore, the district attracts people from all over Ghana and beyond for its colourful and glamorous festivals and its exotic beaches. In 2000, the number of international tourist arrivals to the district was 126,000, whereas the figure has been rising steadily during the last few years. Four hotels and three guesthouses are situated in Elmina.

There are still many things to improve: the investment opportunities lie mainly in the development of restaurants, hotels, amusement parks and recreational facilities. Further opportunities exist in the production of citrus fruit and pineapple drinks, the establishment of sugar factory and vegetable production. Cold storage and preservation facilities for fish require investment as well. The area offers exports that are non-traditional, such as cashews, black pepper, papaya, spices and exotic fish, which could create a new market.

Another economical potential source is the investment and real estate market. Therefore, the District Assembly will assist investors to acquire land and ensure proper tenancy agreement and exempt investors from payment of property tax and other local taxes for the first five years of operation. Apart from that, the provision of utility services and other infrastructure will be facilitated to industrial sites on time. In addition, there will be consultations with decentralised departments on investment propositions.

As for the Local Administration, Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem (KEEA) Municipal Assembly was carved out from Cape Coast Municipal, with Elmina as it capital, and was established in 1988 by a legislative instrument of 1382 under the local government Act PNDC Law 207.

In 2008, the district was elevated to a municipal status due to its historical position and associated tourist potential. The Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem District constitutes one constituency with one Parliamentarian. With 36 Electoral areas the KEEA Municipal Assembly has a membership of 52 Assembly Members (made up of 36 and 16 appointed by Government in addition to the Municipal Chief Executive, and the Member of Parliament for the Constituency who is a non-voting member).

The assembly currently has all the Decentralized Departments in place, among which are those for Education, Health Food and Agriculture, Forestry, Town and Country Planning, community development and social welfare, the Department of Cooperatives, etc.

The Municipal Assembly has one Urban Council, one town Council and four Area Councils. These are Elmina Urban Council, (Elmina), Komenda Town council (Komenda) Ayensudo Area council

(Ayensudo), Ntranoa Area council (Ntranoa), and Kissi Area council (Kissi). In furtherance of grassroots preparatory democracy there is a total of 82 units committees in-charge of community improvement programmes.

The next elections will be held on December 7^th, 2012. Strangely, it is assumed that they will follow a certain pattern. Since 1992 each of the Members of Parliament has been a doctor.

It is said that the KEEA Seat is reserved for those with doctorate degree because Dr. Ato Quarshie of NDC was the first to annex the seat in 1992 until 2004. He then decided to relinquish it and paving the way for Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom to win, with the combination of Convention People’s Party (CPP) and NPP.

After spending one term, Dr. Nduom then left the seat and pursued his presidential ambition in 2008 as the presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP).

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), then in opposition, brought in an unknown candidate from abroad, Dr. Joseph Samuel Annan who contested Nana Ato Arthur and won the seat.

During 2008 elections Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom in addressing large celebrants of Bakatue Festival on the shore of Benya Lagoon told them in plain words that KEEA seat was meant for those with doctorate degree and his comment was bought by the electorate who voted for unknown Dr. Annan who had just returned from abroad.

Sensing danger of this claim to the seat, the former Regional Minister Nana Ato Arthur recently obtained his Doctorate Degree in Governance at a University in Germany to meet the ‘established qualifications’ of the KEEA parliamentary seat.  Now, he can be seen as a potential claimant to the seat in December 7^th General elections.