I do not seek this office to do things the way things have been done. What I care about is to restoring your confidence in your government.

One of my favorite things to do is stand there with people and debate over the issues and then let the people decide. It will also be important for me to devote time to traveling the constituency to visit with my fellow Ketus.

We are going to take this seat in December, but alone I cannot do that, I need your help, so let's all work together to make sure that everyone registers. Register all the people and make sure that they all vote. I understand people are angry. I understand that people's lives are not as good as they were 4 years ago.

Frankly, these people — several of the candidates — have been in Ketu for 20 years, they've been saying the same things. So I know the rules now, and next time I'm going to have a little more fun with it. I have learned about the history and principles of our republic. And what I learned and what I have never forgotten is that sovereignty rests with the people -- not with the government. In recent years, South Ketus have lost confidence in all their MPs. They felt that the action of their government did not represent the will of the people.

This election is not about replacing one man. It is not about replacing one party. It is about changing the entire political climate of this constituency.

Everywhere I go campaigning, I could feel the public hunger for our elected and appointed officials to work together, to work openly and to work for the greater good. This election will be the people's veto for politics as usual. With the eyes of the world upon us, we shall do the dramatic. Now we must put the rancor of the past behind us and do the extraordinary.

It is no secret that I'm a newcomer to politics. I realize I will be elected on faith and hope. And I feel a great responsibility not to let the people down. As soon as I go inside the capital behind me, I will announce my presence in Parliament as Ketu South Member of Parliament. I will talk to address the problems facing my Constituency and have then solved which my predecessors have and could not do. And I will work hard to reform government, but bringing openness and full disclosure of how I will spend the MP’s Common Fund. I will enter this office beholding to no one, except you, my fellow citizens. I pledge my governorship to your interests, not to special interests. I promise to work hand-in-hand with our District Assembly and see to it that all is well and going good. I will be at District Assembly meetings and interact with the Assembly Members, listen to them, make suggestions and see how best I can address their problems. I am a solution seeking for problems, an Anti-Virus to destroy Viruses. Trust me, my people, together we shall make it.

I want the people to know that my administration is not about politics; it is about saving Ketu South Constituency. The state of Ketu South is in a crisis. As I've said many times, we have spent ourselves into the largest deficit in the nation. We have the worst credit rating in the nation. And we have the worst business climate in the nation. Our District Assembly generates high revenues but yet still we lack the amenities, poor markets, lorry stations, etc. I will change all these through you. Your vote is your power.

But even though these problems are staggering, they do not even compare in what Ketu South have overcome in the past. Our state has endured floods and droughts. The floods displacing people and the drought starving us. We had to get help from NADMO. These help will come a three-fold. Trust me, as I have the links worldwide by the power of the Internet. I am rather sad to say that not even some of the other contestants have email addresses of which they can correspond to the outside world by the touch of a computer keyboard.

What we face may look insurmountable. But I learned something in all these years of training and competing. I learned something from all of these years of hustling and training hard. I thought I couldn't hustle anymore. What I learned was that we are always stronger than we know. There is a massive weight we must lift off our Constituency. Alone, I cannot lift it. But together, we can. It is true that things may get harder before they get better. But I have never been afraid of the struggle. I have never been afraid of the fight. And I have never been afraid of the hard work. I will not rest until our fiscal house is in order. I will not rest until Ketu South has a competitive job-creating machine. I will not rest until the people of Ketu South come to see their government as a partner in their lives, and not a roadblock to their dreams.

Today I ask all of you to join me in a new partnership for Ketu South. One that is civil and respectful of our diverse population. One that challenges each and every one of us to serve our Constituency in a joyful, productive and creative way. I have big hopes for Ketu South. Former President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah spoke of Ghana as the gateway to Africa. I see Ketu South as the golden dream by the sea. For millions of people around the world, Ketu South has always glimmered with hope and glowed with opportunity. Millions of people around the world would send their dreams to Ketu South, with the hope that their lives will follow. My main point is to bring people to the electoral process who may not otherwise be there, and I think that's a great thing.

People have said to me, "Courage, isn't it a terrible burden being an MP at a time like this? You are too young! "I tell them, no, not at all. I love working for the people of Ketu South. It is better than being a hustler or managing an Internet Café. It gives me great joy and satisfaction. I am honored to do this work for the people. I am optimistic about our Constituency. The state of our constituency will soon be strong, because our people and our purpose are strong.

We have a new spirit, a new confidence. We have a new common cause in restoring Ketu South to greatness. I will talk about the progress that we have made, the problems we have yet to overcome, and the path we will follow to overcome them. I have no doubt that, together, the people of Ketu South are more than a match for the challenges that we face. I feel good because I believe we have made progress in rebuilding the people's trust in their government.

It would be irresponsible for the government to take the money away from the District Assembly. That is why I will act to keep the money flowing within the system. And we shall create a rainy day fund for future hard times and emergencies. Never again will government be allowed to spend money it doesn't have.

Now I ask you to join me in getting out the message that a "yes" vote for Courage Kwame Mensah Azumah in the December elections is absolutely critical to our financial future. The alternative is economic chaos. The people of Ketu South will not elect me to destroy jobs and businesses by helping parliament to raise taxes. I will not make matters worse. We have no choice but we have to cut spending. These are cuts that will challenge us all. But we cannot give what we do not have. If we continue spending and don't make cuts, Ketu South will be bankrupt. And a bankrupt Ketu South cannot provide services to anyone.

These are proposals that leadership requires, economics demands and the public expects. These cuts will not be easy but they will not be forever. Let us move quickly to put the excesses of the past behind us and get on with the promise that beckons before us. I would like to thank all those on my side of the VOTE FOR COURAGE CAMPAIGN, who are working with us to do just that.

I would like to thank all of those in the education community who are working with us. I am promising them today that we shall do our best to set up a computer resource center with a full internet service where pupils, students, teachers and anybody will just walk in as a citizen of Ketu South and use the services available there at a very reduced and minimum charge. Everyone must play a part in this. Every cloud has a silver lining. The good news is that the spending crisis forces us to bring badly needed reform to government. Although the transition will be difficult, in the end we will have a leaner, more efficient and more responsive state government. A necessary place to start is education. We must make better use of the money that we spend on our schools. My proposal gets more money into the classroom and thus shall introduce per pupil funding. First, we must give local schools the power to meet the specific needs of their own communities. We can do this by using ¢50 million out of the MP’s common fund and cutting the spending of the District Assembly of categorical programs and cutting the strings to Ketu South. This will give schools the freedom to spend the money as they - not Ketu South - best see fit to serve the children. My administration would favour teachers.

Second, school districts are forced to spend an average of 10 to 40 percent more than necessary on non-classroom services, example on school sports. There must be money from the government to the schools for this. We must give local schools the freedom to be more cost efficient. This will free up more money for textbooks and other vital classroom needs. In the past two years, college fees have increased over 40 percent. We must end this boom-and-bust cycle of widely fluctuating fees with a predictable, capped fee policy for college students and their parents. And we must limit the fee increases to no more than ten percent a year. I am appealing to the Private Schools and Institutions to reduce fees and help school children and students who cannot pay fees for one reason or another not forgetting the huge course they incur in providing education.

Like our kindergarten through grade 12 schools, our colleges must also share the burden of the fiscal crisis, but we must work to expand the dream of college. And we must not let the dream bypass our Central Valley. We cannot afford waste and fraud in any department or agency.

Every MP proposes moving boxes around to reorganize government. I don't want to move the boxes around; I want to blow them up. We have multiple departments with overlapping responsibilities. I say consolidate them. We have boards and commissions that serve no pressing public need. I say abolish them. We have a state-purchasing program that is archaic and expensive. I say modernize it. I plan a total review of governing Ketu South - its performance, its practices, its cost. Some of the recommended actions, I will make by executive order. Some will require legislation. And some will need constitutional change. I want your ideas and the more radical the better.

And to Ketu South’s employees, I want to thank you for your hard work under trying circumstances. I also want your ideas, because I want to give you freedom to do your jobs in creative ways. Now, in addition to restoring our state's finances and responsiveness, we must restore the state's business climate. Creating and retaining jobs - and the businesses that provide them - must be a priority of this Legislature.

Jobs provide a solid foundation for families. Jobs add revenues to the state budget. Jobs give stability to our society. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. The more jobs the better. I am going to become Ketu South's job czar. I'm going to travel the nation and the world to find those jobs. I’m going to say, "Come to Ketu South. Come and do business here. Buy our fantastic products. Visit our special attractions. And hire our workers, who are the most productive in the world." At this job mentioning speech, I would like to address my fellow drivers that, I will bring in vehicles and more of them into the Constituency so they can have jobs.

I am an Internet salesman by nature. And now most of my energies will go into selling Ketu South. If I can sell houses, cars and plots of land on the Internet, you know I can sell just about anything. Ketu South is the easiest sell I will ever have. But we must fix the constituency’s business climate. Unemployment checks are an important part, an important safety net. We must fix the system, and I need your help. And while we are promoting jobs and promoting Ketu South, I'm also going to promote our commitment to the environment.  I’m going to encourage builders to build homes using partial solar power. I intend to show the world that economic growth and the environment can coexist. And if you want to see it, then come to Ketu South. I am saying that I would make sure that Ketu South gets its fair share of the national cake. We have decisions approaching that will inflame passions and potentially create division.

Let us remember the greater good of Ketu South. I remain a great believer in the future of this state. I did not seek this job to cut ... but to build. I did not seek this job to preside over the decline of a dream but to renew it. Never in the history have such big dreams come together in one place. Never in the history has such an array of talent and technology converged at one time. Never in the history has such a free and diverse community of people lived and worked under one political system. This is a wonderful place – Ketu South - this empire of aspirations. Great things can be done in Ketu South. Ladies and gentlemen, let us help Ketu South do great things.

I expect my opponents to throw all kinds of dirt at me. My relationship to power and authority is that I'm all for it. People need somebody to watch over them. Ninety-five percent of the people in the world need to be told what to do and how to behave was always dreaming about very powerful people - dictators and things like that. I was just always impressed by people who could be remembered for hundreds of years, or even, like Jesus, be for thousands of years remembered." As you know, I don't need to take any money from anybody. I have plenty of money myself. I will make the decisions for the people." ”We have to make sure everyone in Ketu South has a great job. A fantastic job!" It's the most difficult decision I've made in my entire life, except the one I made in 1997 when I decided to join the Ghana Police Service.

I will direct all appropriate state agencies (the Ghana Police Service, the Station and Union Guards) to accelerate use of the cleanest vehicles commercially available to meet the constituency’s transportation needs. I will also encourage government agencies in Ketu South to do the same.

Ketu South is identified for its beaches and magnificent coastline more than any other single feature, yet Tourism contributes 0 cedis   to Ketu South's economy, and employs just a handful people here.  As an MP, I will protect Ketu South's coastline by fighting for a permanent ban on all unacceptable activities in coastal waters and will urge the government to do something about it. Managing the environment objectively is a matter of dealing with competing needs and tradeoffs, not absolutes and top-down, one size fits all directives. The environment is simply too complex for political systems to manage effectively or efficiently but I promise we shall do our best to help ease some problems facing the environment.

All of us in Ketu South rely on Ghana Water Company for the quality of our drinking water. What efforts are we doing to get other sources of good drinking water in cases of water off? Nothing! I am sure to address this problem. This is the greatest constituency in the greatest country in Africa. It gives you all the opportunity and we want to make sure this constituency in the future will have all the opportunity. That's why I want to be the Member of Parliament of this constituency. We have all these politicians; they're always screwing things up. We pay all these taxes and we have nothing to show for it. The way I feel about it is that everyone has to make his or her own decision. All the other people contesting are people that I respect. They work very hard and at one point or another they have to make this decision. I can't make it for them. Obviously, mathematically speaking, it's wiser to only have one candidate" and he’s me Courage Kwame Mensah Azumah.

What has happened to this constituency? Businesses are moving out. Jobs are moving out. Unemployment rate is rising,”“ We have to stop this government overspending, overtaxing and over regulating,”“ I am asking all of you for your help.

Some Immediate Business Proposals to help Ketu South include:

1. Proposal to the outside world of investing in a Salt Industry in the Constituency just as we have Pambros In Accra. This is a natural resource we are not paying attention to, its time we wake up to appreciate our God given white Gold.

 2. Proposal of having a Kente Cloth Weaving Factory. Our kente has gone a long way and across the world yet we get no praise and goodies from it. This is the time we have to make it.

 3. A Health Care Center to treat the sick. There’s a health care center at Low Cost to serve the Agbozume-Klikor Communities but this project has been halted due to little differences between some factions.  This must be settled to pave way for the continuation of the Health Center to provide the much needed medical attention instead of having to transport sick people to as far as Dzodze Hospital, Aflao Health Center or leaving them to face the expensive medical fees at the Private Clinics.

 4. The re-stuffing of Fascom Ware Houses (though now in private hands) in the Constituency with Agricultural goodies to help out farmers produce more food to help us live our normal lives. This will reduce the price of corn in general.

 5. The provision of better infrastructure to the school kids. Teachers will be motivated to go into the classrooms and come home only after school closes. Pupils, Students and Teachers will be awarded and scholarships awarded to deserving ones among the lot.

6. Our mothers in the markets are not forgotten as better plans are made for them to market in a very condusive atmosphere. The building of a multi-complex market is another target I am seriously considering.

 7. Provision of more vehicles as commercial buses and taxis; our drivers will not face problems anymore with employment as they will have neat functioning vehicles and more so, more drivers get jobs and also congestions and sufferings of waiting for vehicles from and to market and offices especially on market days will be no more.

8. Sanitation is also a target problem to which I have the solutions. We shall have more rubbish containers placed at vantage points to keep the communities clean from dirt. I propose we all start Humanist Movement in all towns; villages and cottages to make it look a massive hit but nit only a 1-day clean up exercise.

Instant Projects to solve: Both the Community and me

1. Sanitation in the whole Ketu South Constituency- CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS AND A SOUND MIND IN A HEALTHY BODY AND ABOVE ALL CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME. This would be by self-help projects that I shall organize personally to include every living man and woman as a communal labour. The sanitation problems in the Constituency are caused by us and we are the best people to help solve them. Nobody would do it for us except ourselves.  We must all get involved to make our inhabitants clean.

 2. Provision of clean public places of convenience (water closets) so we can phase out the use of K.V.I.P's and where K.V.I.P's are needed, I shall make sure it is properly looked after.

 3. Provision of Electricity and good Drinking water to the rest of the surrounding villages lacking these essential utilities. Its time our tax money gives us what and why we pay tax for.

 4. Creation of a tourist attraction in some selected towns and villages to be mentioned soon so we can get revenue to develop the whole area.

 5. Promotion of Sports in schools to the highest level. I love sports and would see to it that athletes in the constituency are promoted to the highest level.

 6. Helping delinquent children, the old and the aged get better care. Orphans would be kept in orphan homes and not to be left on the streets to suffer. This is my pledge to have an Orphan home in the constituency.

 7. The enforcement of all laws both traditional and national. As a matter of fact, we are all law-abiding citizens and therefore there will be no need to talk much about this subject. My only message is that I will not in my capacity as an MP tolerate any criminal activities to go on in my constituency. We must all say NO to CRIME and YES to PEACE, LOVE and JOY. I pledge to return total law enforcement in the Constituency so we all live in a stable, peaceful land.

 Finally, In sharing the national cake, we would start with those who do not have and make sure that people who cannot afford decent meals nor afford kerosene to light their homes at night would be comfortable. I assure you this, my fellow citizens of Ketu South.

 I am not beholden to anyone. I am my own man and my own self. If the special interests try to push me around I will push back

 Thank you all and God bless you.