Member of Parliament for Sekondi, Blay Armah Nyameke, has urged constituents to discard political considerations and fully embrace government programmes designed to create livelihoods and stimulate local economic development.
Speaking during the distribution of more than 9,000 breeder birds to constituents under the government’s Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative, Mr Nyameke said the poultry intervention should be viewed not merely as a short-term government support programme, but as part of a broader strategy to build a commercially viable local poultry industry and gradually reduce Ghana’s dependence on imported chicken.
He said the immediate objective is to test and strengthen the appetite for locally produced poultry while creating a pathway for beneficiaries to transition from household-level production into sustainable commercial ventures.
“This is more of a startup programme. It is more of the government’s desire to evaluate how people will patronise home-grown chicken. The grand plan is to scale this programme up and into a commercial venture.”
Accord ing to the MP, five individuals had already expressed interest in taking the initiative beyond the initial beneficiary stage and had been registered to pursue poultry production on a commercial basis.
He said efforts were underway to support them to establish appropriate structures as the programme evolves. Mr Nyameke said the success and sustainability of such commercial ventures would ultimately depend on generating sufficient public interest in locally produced poultry.
“This is a long-term vision to gradually reduce importation of birds,” he said, adding that once strong interest is generated and sustained, the initiative could “blossom” into a viable economic enterprise.
The MP, however, expressed concern that political perceptions could prevent some residents from taking advantage of government opportunities, arguing that the tendency to view public interventions through a partisan lens risked depriving citizens of potentially transformative economic opportunities.
“Sadly, everything in this country is viewed with a political lens, which denies many some of these glorious business opportunities.”
Mr Nyameke suggested that some residents in Sekondi who would otherwise have participated in the programme might have stayed away out of fear of being politically tagged or stigmatised.
He stressed that the Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme is not intended to benefit only members of the governing party, but a public intervention meant to contribute to the development of communities and the country as a whole. “It is neither NDC nor NPP, but for the development of Sekondi,” he said, urging constituents to participate irrespective of their political affiliation.
The MP said his approach to the programme is therefore to ensure that party supporters, non-partisans and people with different political persuasions all have the opportunity to benefit.
“Once it is a government initiative, it should be possible for everyone to enjoy, once you are a constituent. So, for me, I believe that as well as our party people, others must also benefit. What about the so-called neutrals? So, everyone must get involved,” he said.
He further called for the principle of inclusiveness to transcend changes in government, saying public programmes should not become partisan instruments whenever political power changes hands.
He urged the public to embrace government initiatives on the basis of their developmental value rather than the political party that introduced them.
By Eric Yaw Adjei
