Former Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency, Dr John Kingsley Krugu, says the National Democratic Congress’ control of all 15 parliamentary seats in the Upper East Region could become a development weakness if it reduces political pressure on the government to respond to the region’s needs.
Speaking on A1 Radio, Dr Krugu challenged the view that the NDC’s “15/15” parliamentary victory automatically gives the Upper East Region greater political influence and development prospects.
He argued that having all 15 MPs belonging to the governing party could limit the competitive political pressure that opposition representation might have created.
“You have 15 MPs who all belong to the governing party. Within them, they have different clout. Some are bigwigs, others are newcomers,” he said.
Dr Krugu said the presence of opposition MPs could compel governing-party lawmakers to speak more forcefully on development issues affecting their constituencies.
“If, out of the 15, you had three, four or even five opposition MPs, you would have seen that things would have been different,” he said.
According to him, opposition MPs would be more likely to publicly challenge the government over development concerns, potentially putting pressure on governing-party MPs to demonstrate that they were equally advocating for their constituents.
Dr Krugu also argued that political parties and governments tend to devote greater attention to areas where they believe electoral gains can be made.
“Parties and governments want to go to places where they hope to have a gain,” he said.
He suggested that the NDC’s overwhelming electoral dominance could create the perception that the Upper East Region is politically secure for the party, potentially reducing the electoral pressure to deliver.
Dr Krugu, however, acknowledged that the current political configuration also presents a significant opportunity for the region, with several MPs and senior political figures occupying influential positions in government.
He contrasted the situation with the previous NPP administration, when the party had only one MP from the Upper East Region, who also served as a Deputy Minister.
Dr Krugu also rejected suggestions that the NPP failed to contribute to the development of the region while in government. He cited the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road and other interventions as examples, while arguing that the party’s limited parliamentary representation constrained the region’s influence within the administration.
He said the Upper East Region’s current parliamentary representation could give it considerably greater influence, but stressed that political numbers alone would not guarantee development.
Dr Krugu therefore urged the region’s political leadership to translate its unprecedented parliamentary representation into stronger advocacy and tangible development outcomes.
For him, the ultimate measure of the NDC’s 15/15 victory will not be the number of parliamentary seats it controls, but what that political dominance delivers for the people of the Upper East Region.
A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Moses Apiah | Bolgatanga
