The final verdict after the National Democratic Congress’ Saturday, May 13, 2023, internal polls would be that only one person has sailed through.
It is this verdict that the three candidates vying for the presidential candidate slot of the party would individually want to hear.
However, the decision will be left only in the hands of the several thousand NDC delegates who will gather across all the constituencies of the country to vote.
John Dramani Mahama, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, and Kojo Bonsu, now have only about 48 hours to firm up their convincing tactics with these delegates.
Whether they will be convinced enough or not, the results of Saturday will show.
But while you’re at it, have you wondered exactly what messages the three candidates are sharing with their constituents?
Here is a breakdown of the major key points and messages that are being shared with the delegates of the National Democratic Congress, put together by GhanaWeb:
Kojo Bonsu
The former mayor of Kumasi has been traveling the country with a message focused on reshaping the party.
Here they are:
1. Introduction of a Prestige Card for party dues paying members. In case of any unfortunate circumstance such as death, the person will be given GHC10,000 as a welfare from the dues they’ve been paying…. The card also caters for 30 days hospitalization fee within a year.
2. Building a moduled party offices for every constituency in Ghana, create a bank account, and giving a seed fund to start up a project. This he believes, will bring transparency and accountability while helping the party run as a corporate entity.
3. Select two people from each constituency to become presidential staffers.
4. Bring power to the grassroots by adopting a bottom-down approach in the party’s decision making process.
5. Revitalize the party to become a more formidable force across the continent and attract more people to the party.
Dr Kwabena Duffuor
Dr. Duffuor is one of the stalwarts of the NDC who is also looking to become the party’s flagbearer.
He is a former Minister of Finance, a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, and an accomplished businessman.
With the Ahotor Project being one of his cardinal selling points, Dr. Duffuor hopes to revive a number of initiatives that, hitherto, brought prestige to party.
These are his messages:
1. An NDC Investment Fund
2. The NDC Pension Fund
3. Reviving the NDC Heroes Fund
4. Real-time Collation System for the NDC
5. Salary Structure for NDC Executives
6. Staff Regional and Constituency Offices
7. NDC Professional Academy
8. Ahotor Project
9. Women’s Fund
What will DKD do for Ghana?
– Restore the economy within 2 years
– Create fiscal space for development
– Intensify domestic resource mobilization
– Reduce government expenditure
– Run a lean government (23 ministers and 23 deputy ministers)
– Develop and secure the food value chain
– Job creation
– Expanding access to healthcare services
– Expanding access to quality education, and promoting vocational and technical training
– Tackle corruption
John Dramani Mahama
The former president of Ghana is making his fourth attempt at become the presidential candidate of the NDC.
Having won all the attempts he has made in the past, with the first one winning him the general election of 2012, he is a force to be reckoned with.
While there is no detailed outline of the messages John Mahama has been sharing with delegates of his party, he has themed his campaign, Building the Ghana We Want.
In his nationwide tours, the former president has spoken about things such as cancelling the ex-gratia, reviving the economy, and restoring the hopes of Ghanaians in the political leadership of the country, among many others.
AE/OGB
Dutch defender of Ghanaian descent, Jeremie Frimpong
Dutch defender of Ghanaian descent, Jeremie Frimpong is up for the April Player of the Month award in the German Bundesliga.
In the month under review, the youngster starred in all the games played by his club Bayer Leverkusen.
For the April Player of the Month award, Jeremie Frimpong has been nominated alongside his Leverkusen teammate Moussa Diaby.
There is also Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard, Donyell Malen of Borussia Dortmund, and Stuttgart’s Josha Vognoman.
All players did well last month and will deserve the German Bundesliga Player of the Month award should they win the accolade.
For Jeremie Frimpong, he has not only been good in April. The full-back has been in top form all season and is playing at the top level.
He has become a key player for Bayer Leverkusen and is sometimes played in midfield or attack because of his versatility.
The youngster’s impressive displays this season has seen him attract interest from Manchester United.
The club will in the summer transfer window attempt to bring the defender to England to strengthen the squad of the team.
Private legal practitioner, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
A leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, on May 11, 2022, noted that he was not pleased with the economic crisis fraught the country.
Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Asaase Radio, Gabby-Otchere-Darko said, “I am not too sure my perspective will be different from yours. I am not happy with the economy. I don’t think you are happy with the economy; I certainly don’t think the president is happy with the economy because he had made it so; he said so that he is not happy. His vice president [Dr Bawumia] had repeated that, his finance minister [Ken Ofori-Atta had said same. So, we are not happy with the economy.”
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A leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has boldly admitted to not being pleased with the current economic conditions of the country.
According to him, his view on the economic challenges and its associated conditions cannot be any different from that of the general populace including the President and members of government.
Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Asaase Radio, Gabby-Otchere-Darko said, “I am not too sure my perspective will be different from yours. I am not happy with the economy. I don’t think you are happy with the economy; I certainly don’t think the president is happy with the economy because he had made it so; he said so that he is not happy. His vice president [Dr Bawumia] had repeated that, his finance minister [Ken Ofori-Atta had said same. So, we are not happy with the economy.”
Despite the admission, the legal practitioner said the current situation is not limited to only Ghana as the global economy is also facing massive challenges due to an array of factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine tensions.
“I am not too sure it is a peculiar situation with Ghana. I heard Boris Johnson saying that quite recently, he is not happy. Biden is not happy. Wherever you go, Nigeria, I don’t think there is any country where you will say that the leadership and the people are happy with the state of the economy,” he stated.
He further reiterated government’s commitment to addressing the current economic challenges and touted the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as one that is best to manage Ghana.
“I believe that yes, you cannot run away from the fact that the economy is facing serious challenges, that’s accepted, and you cannot run away from the fact that Ghanaians are struggling. You cannot run away from the fact that the government is trying its best to in managing the situation. Is that the best? I believe that time will tell,” Gabby Otchere-Darko added.
Joyce Bawa Mogtari is Special Aide to John Mahama
The Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has urged the public to disregard a fake social media post attributed to her.
Referring to the post as having been shared from a clone account, she denies making any tribal comments against the Ashanti people.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, Mogtari stated that, “As soon as they announced a government initiative to curb the spread of fake news, I knew that this infamous government had discovered a new scam! Clone the accounts of political opponents and set them up for attacks or create disaffection.”
She also expressed gratitude for the swift attention the fake tweet received, but hoped that people would instead “discount, discredit or report the fake tweets instead of sharing same across platforms knowing same to be false, fake and disinformation.”
Mogtari firmly believes that the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is behind the creation of clone accounts to target political opponents and generate public outrage.
Source: ghanaweb.com
