The Second Lady Samira Bawumia has appealed to members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to go into the 2020 elections with the mind-set that it will take a great deal of efforts for the party to retain power.
Mrs. Bawumia said although she is optimistic the Akufo-Addo administration has done enough to win the upcoming elections, executives of the party, in particular, and the supporters in general, cannot be complacent.
“I think we’re going to win but we’ve to put in a lot of effort,” Mrs. Bawumia cautioned.
“We can’t be complacent,” the Second Lady warned in an interview on Sunday Night on Asaase Radio.
According to her, opponents of the NPP, especially the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) are not sleeping hence the party must double its effort to win the 2020 elections.
She added: “We must work hard. There are others undermining your good work so we can’t go to sleep. Already, they are stealing our obvious achievements such as the Free SHS so you can imagine.”
Mrs. Bawumia advised politicians to avoid violence and intemperate language during electioneering campaigns because “politics is not about hating each other.”
“We must love each other. Politics is a contest of ideas. We must know that we are each other’s keeper. We must not be divided by politics. We’re one people. Violence should never be tolerated,” she noted.
She stated that the current NPP administration has done a lot unlike the Mahama administration to secure “four more to do more.”
“Our achievements are all over. We’ve done a lot for Ghanaians… Look at the One District One Factory, we’ve done over 47 in just three and a half years and someone did just one (Komenda Sugar Factory) from scratch without the raw materials. We’ve done Free SHS and even with Covid we’ve done a lot,” Mrs. Bawumia stressed.
She has been at the forefront of empowering women through her Samira Empowerment for Humanitarian Project (SEHP) ever since the NPP came to power in 2017. Already, she is building four factories for Shea butter processing in the Shea nut-rich regions in the Northern part of Ghana.
The Shea Empowerment Initiative endeavors to train 1600 women over a three-year period within the shea value chain in the Wa (Upper West), West Mamprusi District (North East Region), Gushiegu (Northern Region) and Kasena Nankena District (Upper East) areas.
The Second Lady also highlighted some initiatives by her not-for-profit organisation, which includes, the ‘Safe Delivery Project’, an initiative that seeks to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in deprived communities.
The Safe Delivery project is expected to distribute birth kits to expectant mothers in their third trimester, in deprived communities. The project has, additionally, trained traditional birth attendants and several health workers.
SEHP has also equipped selected health facilities in deprived communities in Ghana. So far, SEHP has retooled the Tamale Teaching Hospital, some health centres, and Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Compounds with necessary medical and surgical equipment, as well as medical consumables.
SEHP with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has launched a Coalition of People against Sexual and Gender Based Violence and Harmful Practices (CoPASH).
CoPASH will spearhead a national response to the issues of SGBV/HPs including case management and increasing prevention efforts in Ghana. The goal of CoPASH is to bring together agencies, organizations and individuals who are passionate about the rights of women and girls, to advocate for better case management for SGBV victims throughout the nation.
Source: Daily Mail GH
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