Lawrence Apalse, Former Chief Director of the Energy Ministry
Lawrence Apalse, Former Chief Director of the Energy Ministry

Former Chief Director of the Energy Ministry, Lawrence Apalse, has revealed that throughout his 4-year stay in office, no single member of Parliament from the Upper East Region approached him in an attempt to lobby for projects including street lights for their communities.

Mr. Apalse noted that while MPs from other regions were making frequent visits to his office to lobby for projects and making demands, none of the MPs from the region made an attempt.

He revealed that the likes of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Sam George and MPs from the Upper West Region frequented the ministry requesting for many projects for their respective constituencies.

Mr. Apalse has helped in improving street lighting in Bongo, the Gamborongo area where he comes from.

He also played a key role in the execution of the main street lighting project that runs from Winkogo to Sumbrungu.

At the commissioning of a footbridge constructed in his honour as a former staff of the Ghana National Petroleum Commission (GNPC), Mr. Apalse in an interview with Dreamz News, revealed that it is surprising that none of the MPs from the region took advantage of his presence at the ministry to lobby for projects for their respective areas.

“When I was Chief Director at the Ministry of Energy, Prampram MP, Ablakwa and MPs from Upper West, they were coming to me asking for lights. You ask our MPs here, did one MP visit me in my office and say ‘I want lights for Tongo’. Not even one. Not even my own Bongo MP came to my office and was just signing,” he stated.

He also expressed dissatisfaction with development the region has gotten under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) governments, stating that it does not commensurate with the dominance the party enjoys in the Upper East Region.