A PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL OF THE OPPOSITION NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (NDC), Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has promised to construct 275 constituency party offices across the country if he is elected Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress in 2018.
He said the energy he will apply in service of his political party, will be a statement on how his performance is likely to be if he is elected President of Ghana in the 2020 general elections.
According to the former diplomat, his victory in the upcoming presidential primaries on December 7th would end the practice where constituency meetings are held in open courtyards under trees, classrooms, churches, friends and family houses among others.
Speaking on Happy Fm, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah maintained that the Grassroot members of the party believed strongly that the party had turned its back on them, therefore his entry in the race is not only to inspire and reassure members of the party but to respond to realities.
” I am in this contest as a transformational leader to transform the grassroots and Ghana.”
According to the former Trade and Industry minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration, he was the only candidate out of the 13 presidential hopefuls to have prepared a 7 point Agenda outlining his program and policies including the construction of 275 constituency party offices.
Dr Spio-Garbrah agreed with the host of the program, Kwame Afrifa Mensah that endorsements by big personalities in the race were important.
He was quick to add however that actual power to elect presidential candidate of the NDC is in the hands of thousands of grassroot members, thus the concentration of his campaign team is on those in whom popular sovereignty resides.
He cited the recent regional elections in which eight of the ten regional chairmen of the party who endorsed candidature of former president mahama losing their chairmanship. Two of the chairmen shown the exit door did not find the need to contest at all because they saw the odds stacked against them.
Dr Spio- Garbrah noted that the example was clear evidence delegates are not looking at big personality endorsements but capable hands.
He said each person has one vote, hence his focus on the volumes to come from the grassroots.
Touching on the 2016 presidential campaign, Dr. Spio Garbrah who was one time CEO of Action Chapel Worldwide, maintained that the NDC did a lot of projects which can be referenced in the green book but failed to communicate it to the understanding of the grassroots.
The NDC is the party of the ordinary people including the kayaye, the truck pusher, traders, farmers, teachers, nurses, fishermen etc.” therefore he believes that polices of the party must be geared towards satisfying these groups of society.
Touching on the economy under the Nana Addo/ Bawumia administration, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah indicated that the country is experiencing the hardest economic conditions which has never happened in the last twenty years. He further maintained that the unplanned implementation of the free SHS education has aggravated the challenges of the economy, thereby causing the collapse of both local and international businesses.
According to the former Trade and Industry minister, the NDC left the NPP government with the sugar factory, two thousand sugar cane farmers, laws to regulate the farmers and to guide investors in their operations, however the NPP government has sat down talking without any action to get the factory running.
Source: tnpnewsonline.com