The NDC’s Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah has inspired TEIN members at the Kumasi Technical University during the orientation for the level 100 students.
The NDC has an annual tradition of orientating the fresh students and preparing them to be effective members.
Setting the tone for what the young students would later describe as the best paradigm-shifting presentation they have seen in their fledgling political life, Honourable Afriyie-Ankrah recalled the antecedents of the NDC.
According to him, their members should have confidence in their party considering the political antecedents of their party vis-à-vis that of their opponents.
He explained to the audience that there was no need for them to be hoodwinked by their opponents because members of the NPP were only puffed up without substance. He said they talked a lot and show off but have nothing substantial to show. Rather, he encouraged the young politicians to be proud of the NDC because sector by sector, their achievements dwarfed those of the NPP.
Another reason the Director of Elections mentioned in convincing his audience to be proud of their party was that the NDC is known to give more opportunities to young people.
"Former President Rawlings who was 33 years when he became the Head of State had a lot of young people in his government. Totobi Quakye for instance was a Minister at the age of 24 years. Other prominent members of his government including P. V. Obeng, Ato Austin and Joyce Aryee were all young when they were given the opportunity to serve in Jerry Rawling’s government.
"After him, in our generation, we can talk about young folks like Okujeto Ablakwa, Ofosu-Kwakye and the rest. George Opare Addo (Pablo) who is the NDC Youth Organizer was a District Chief Executive at the age of 27 and he served for two terms. Today the party still gives opportunities to young politicians like Sammy Gyamfi to blossom in their political career."
This, he noted was a clear indication that the TEIN members were potential Ministers or deputies, MMDCEs or Chief Executives Officers.
Honourable Afriyie-Ankrah also reminded his audience that the NDC had a better record in good governance.
He said the NDC’s democratic credentials as well as fight against corruption were superior to their opponents. The Corruption Perception Index under the NDC was 43 at a point and it was improved to 48 by the time President Mahama left power. President Akufo Addo has consistently maintained 43, meaning his best performance was the worst under his predecessor.
Also, any issues that came up under the NDC including the Victoria Hammer and late Dzifa Attivor scandals were investigated and comprehensively dealt with. Indeed in the case of the Brazil 2014 debacle, it was investigated publicly and the final report is available as a public document. At the end of the day it was clear that there was no issue of corruption or embezzlement.
On the other hand, there is One Week, One Scandal under President Akufo Addo and all he does is to clear them. Unlike President Mahama who went to the extent of incarcerating his own appointee and Member of Parliament, President Akufo Addo has not been able to prosecute any of his appointees in spite of the numerals scandals and high perception of corruption.
Before concluding his speech, the Director of Elections reiterated that the before the young politicians could be effective as TEIN members, they must have confidence in the party, the leadership and themselves. He stressed that their confidence must not be baseless or puffed up like members of the NPP but must be on the basis of tangible, verifiable facts.
He reminded them that apart from Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the only party that has built Ghana with tangible results was the NDC. He conceded that the NPP communicators usually displayed foolhardy confidence on radio and television but no TEIN member must be perturbed because they are empty and are based on deception plus denial in the face of hard evidence and facts.
Finally, Honourable Elvis urged his excited audience to develop themselves and build their capacities. They were advised to take their studies seriously to excel and as much as possible pursue their Masters and PhD, since globalization has made the job market more competitive.
“It is not enough to be there dreaming that your party will come to power because NDC gives opportunities to the youth”, he stated, adding that “you must work hard while taking some free online courses to make you a better candidate so that when opportunities arise, you will be prepared to take advantage of them”.
NDC’s Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah