The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema Central in the Greater Accra region, Hon. Yves Nii Noi Hanson-Nortey has indicated that preparations towards a town-hall meeting with his constituents are far advanced adding that it will take place before Parliament reconvenes on January 18, 2022.
Speaking on Tema-based radio station, Plan B FM, in an exclusive interview with Nkosuohene Maxwell Addo, host of Nkosuo Nsem, Hon. Hanson-Nortey confirmed that he will meet his constituents with a view to discuss the controversial E-Levy and the bill on Anti-LGBTQI+ which is currently awaiting passage into law by Parliament.
Answering a question from the host of the morning show on whether he had consulted his constituents on the E-Levy and the Anti-LGBTQI+ bill to get their views on them, the MP remarked that he had consulted with a few people and added that most of them are community leaders while others are religious leaders.
“The truth is I consulted a few people including some religious leaders to get their views on the E-Levy and Anti-LGBTQI+ and the general feedback I got is that we in Tema Central constituency are against the promotion of anything that has to do with LGBTQI+. We support the Anti-LGBTQI+ bill which is before Parliament,” Hon. Hanson-Nortey remarked.
Continuing he noted that he did same for the E-Levy and was quick to point out that contrary to the impression that everyone is against its implementation, he rather realized that a lot of people were not properly educated about the levy.
In line with giving his constituents a lot of insight into the two aforementioned issues, the Tema Central MP pointed out that he will engage them in a town-hall meeting to throw more light on the issues and also seek their views on them.
According to him, the essence of a town-hall meeting is to meet with his constituents to either discuss topic of interest such as the E-levy or the LGBTQI+ and to also hear from them what their views are. He opined that such forum will not only inform his constituents about the topics mentioned but will also give them the opportunity to be heard on what they think should be done which will ultimately enhance their lives as a people.
Earlier during the interview, he described as expensive the idea of engaging one’s constituents and mentioned that as an MP, one would need not less than GH¢25,000 to do that. He further commented that despite being expensive, plans are far advanced to engage them adding that it will certainly happen before Parliament resumes.
The discussions preceding the announcement of the town-hall meeting saw the MP deny engaging in a fight during the recent brawl between some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and those from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the floor of Parliament.
According to him, he rather ensured that some of his colleagues on both sides did not fight adding that he is a peaceful person who would never engage in any violent conduct.
He also debunked media report which alleged he had defrauded Star Assurance, an insurance company. He told the host of the show that he was rather the victim who has still not received his locked up funds in the said issue. He preferred not to delve deep into the matter adding that the matter was before a law court.
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