Assembly Members Excited by Mahama’s pledge of ‘Allawa’

Reports reaching ‘The New Publisher’ indicate Assemblymen and women all over the country are excited about Former President John Mahama’s promise to pay them monthly allowance during the era of his next administration if he gets the nod to become the President of Ghana once again.

There have been reports that some Assemblymen and women have rejected the former President’s pledge but a week’s survey in many parts of the country by scouts of this paper indicates most Assemblymen and women are looking forward to this promise as it will help them financially to take care of their needs and those of their families and loved ones. Currently, they receive only sitting allowance which is just a pittance.

Interestingly, even Assemblymen and women with leanings to the ruling NPP have been dazed by this pledge from the Former President and are looking forward to it.

“It is the best news that every assembly member can expect from any President. I have been an Assemblyman for eight years and life has been a struggle. We are supposed to take care of our electoral area but how can we do so effectively when we cannot take care of ourselves? I am sure you know many Assembly members belong to the lower class of the society. So if we are going to be receiving monthly allowance for the work we are doing, why should we not be excited?  It is about our welfare, not an NDC or NPP matter”, an assemblyman who is a known member of the NPP in an electoral area in Accra told this paper on condition of anonymity in an interview.

Many assembly members, supporters of the NPP and the NDC who this paper spoke to on this issue echoed similar sentiments.

Former President John Mahama, who is the NDC’s flagbearer in this year’s general election made the last week at a meeting with the Ghana Association of Assembly Members (GAAM) in his office in Accra.

Mr Mahama said as the first point of contact for the resolution of many issues in electoral areas, assembly members require support from the government to enable them to effectively discharge their enormous responsibilities.

He observed that not only do assembly members attend to the day-to-day needs of the people, but also serve as community development agents.

Mr Mahama pledged to design training programmes to improve the capacity of assembly members as well as pay them monthly allowances to encourage them to do more for their communities.