Alexander Afenyo-Markin
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu,
Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has protested vehemently against what he described as
the continuous harassment and jailing of fishermen in Effutu instigated by
people purporting to be human rights activists.
He said those supposed advocates have
‘questionable credibility’ and have been pursuing their selfish political agenda
and not fighting human rights abuses in the fishing industry as they claim.
Last Thursday, during the Effutu Youth
Conference to launch the Effutu Dream, the angry-looking MP said he was getting
involved in the case of the helpless fishermen and was prepared to offer free
legal services to challenge some of the lies the so-called advocates, who are
being given tacit support from the opposition NDC, peddle against them in order
to get them jailed.
Sad Situation
“This sad situation cannot be sustained under
any circumstances in Effutu. Enough is enough! A supposed correctional measure
that rather destroys entire families should be checked. One NGO gets up in this
town and accuses Effutu fishermen of selling their children into slavery. The
NDC then decides to package some information to suit a particular agenda and then
throw the fishermen in jail,” he fired.
He queried, “How does this help cure any
challenge of supposed slavery? How does this solve any problem? Sometimes we
ought to apply local wisdom in addressing challenges. We should look at issues
in context rather than jail Effutu fishermen just to please some foreign
financiers of some NGOs,” Mr. Afenyo-Markin noted.
Historical Practice
The MP, who is also a
lawyer, explained that there is a historical cultural practice where fishermen
send their children to stay with other fishermen in different parts of the
country to learn from them and that people who do not understand such cultural
practices should not wrongly conclude that the practice is tantamount to slavery.
“Effutu fishermen are not slave masters. They
love their children. Indeed, these days all their children are in school with
the teenage ones enjoying Free SHS. Which Effutu man in his right senses would
dare sell his child into slavery in this modern era?” he quizzed.
“It has been the style of some NGOs to
exaggerate issues, blow them out of proportion, and package the exaggerated
stories to foreign financiers just to be seen to be working as human right
activists,” he added.
“Can they please leave my constituents out of
this game that has sent many family heads and bread winners to jail? They seem
to have no understanding of what it means when the father of a family is thrown
in jail leaving behind his wife and children and as well as other dependants,” Mr.
Afenyo-Markin stressed.
Effutu Dream
He said the Efutu Dream is creating the
enabling conditions for people of Effutu, particularly the youth, to encourage
them to pursue their goals irrespective of their political affiliation.
“The Effutu Dream is ensuring that all persons
working and schooling in Effutu has what it takes to compete favourably with
their contemporaries anywhere in the world. The Effutu Dream is to promote the
ancestral heritage, the traditions and festivals and the rich culture of
Effutuman in an atmosphere of unity and with a common goal for us all to
prosper and develop in freedom. The Dream is to position Effutu as the best
place to live, the best place to work, the best place to visit for tourism and
the best place to invest and to do business in Ghana,” he explained.
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