A 2024 National Democratic Congress flag bearer contender, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, has said he will restore the defunct NDC Heroes Fund to serve its original purpose for which it was set up.
The former Governor of the Bank of Ghana gave the reassurance during a campaign tour with Greater Accra regional executives of the NDC in Accra.
The Fund was set up in June 2011 under President John Evans Atta Mills to assist supporters and loyalists of the NDC, who have encountered misfortunes, incapacitation or other forms of deprivations in the course of their service to the party.
The setting up of the fund followed the efforts put into the general elections by the party grassroots in 2008, leading to the recapturing of power from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), where many of the party members had to put themselves in harm’s way.
In order to sustain the enthusiasm of the youth and the base of the party, the NDC came up with an insurance policy called the HEROES FUND to reassure and compensate those who go the extra mile for the party; an idea that received popular acclaim from the rank and file.
Without any sustainable measures put in place after the demise of President Atta Mills, the Fund dried up and died a natural death.
Unfortunately, only a few party heroes benefited from the fund at the initial stages but all others who put themselves in harm’s way during subsequent elections throughout the country and suffered injuries in places like Ayawaso West Wuogon, Techiman South, and many other places, did not get any financial support from the party due to the collapse of the Heroes Fund.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, who was finance minister under President Atta Mills, believes it is a legacy that must be restored immediately he is elected flag bearer of the opposition NDC for the 2024 elections, in order to restore and instill confidence and courage in the rank and file of the party.
“We cannot afford as a party to be without a support system at a time when there is state sponsored political violence all over the country, making the political landscape intimidating for the NDC members to come out vigorously to engage in open grassroots mobilisation, policing of ballots, serving as agents and collation of election results,” he said.
Without this support system, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor argues, the party base has been weakened, and the morale and individual resolve to sacrifice for the party before, during and after elections has vanished, and in its place is apathy.
In 2022, the NDC 2024 flag bearer hopeful introduced a different support system for the NDC grassroots better known as the NDC AHOTOR Business Support Project to bring a commercial reality to the party activities at constituency level with a personal investment of about 10M Ghana cedes into the AHOTOR business suit for all 275 constituencies.
When fully rolled out, it is estimated to generate an average income of 6000ghc per month per constituency. The aim is to make constituency executives financially autonomous and easily facilitate party work.
Source: ghanaweb.com / Kweku Ampong, Contributor
