NDC ignites flame for change and sets stage for 2024 election showdown
In a vibrant display of political fervour, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) last Saturday launched its campaign for the 2024 elections, with speaker after another beckoning Ghanaians to join the quest for change to “reset” the country and the economy.
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With a resounding call to action, the party set the tone for a thrilling electoral season, promising to revitalise the nation's fortunes and restore hope to a populace yearning for a better tomorrow.
To launch the event at the Jubilee Park in Tamale in the Northern Region, a sea of enthusiastic supporters, clad in the party's signature black, red, white and green colours, converged to witness the dawn of the campaign season.
The atmosphere was electrifying, punctuated by rhythmic drumbeats, soul-stirring chants, and an unbridled sense of optimism as the campaign launch, which is one of the party’s biggest political events in an election year, returned to Tamale after more than 20 years since it was last held there.
Indeed, Tamale and the whole of the Northern, North East and Savannah regions were once assured voter zones of the NDC. But with Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, a native of the area, now leading the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), the dynamics have become complex.
The campaign launch marked another stage in the former President and the party’s flag bearer, John Dramani Mahama's, effort to return to power, having been President for four years already.
And when he mounted the stage to a chorus of cheers from the excited crowd, he lifted a finger at the current government and its leadership, saying: "It is not how long you serve, but how well you serve. Four years of a good leader is better than eight years of a dishonest leader".
He touted the NDC's credentials in infrastructure development in diverse sectors, economic management and the attendant living standards of the people, among other indicators, during his tenure, and said all of those economic measurements had been set back under the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
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Mr Mahama referenced the latest Afrobarometer report on Ghana that suggested a growing discontent with democracy in the country; the Ghana Living Standards Survey report that said 1.9 million people were unskilled and jobless, and other credible sources that painted a gloomy picture of the country's current condition, and said the coming elections were an opportunity to return the country onto the right path.
He made concessions that his time at the presidency might have had its own shortcomings, but emphasised that his government never condoned what was wrong, and that the next one would not tolerate wrongdoing.
Run-down economy
Mr Mahama said the country had been run down, and as such change was now non-negotiable if Ghanaians wanted to create a sustainable society that created equal opportunities for all.
"Change needs Ghana because the Afrobarometer survey showed that 80 per cent of Ghanaians think the country is going in the wrong direction," he said to a chorus of cheers.
Mr Mahama asked the party’s supporters to stay awake for 48 hours, in vigilance, after voting to protect their votes.
The former President said Ghana's youth could not afford to waste another four years under the current administration, emphasising that the country's situation was worse than what the current government would admit.
He said the December elections were about truth versus lies, honesty versus deception, and competence and experience versus arrogance and impunity, as he branded the party’s main opponents as outright failures.
He stressed that trust was essential, and that it was the reason why the NDC was calling on Ghanaians to help to turn things around. "I will work hard day and night to make sure we reset the fortunes of this country," he said.
"Let us not lose hope. The next NDC government is the government that will restore hope and create opportunities for the youth. NDC has the men and women who are capable of turning around the fortunes of the country,” he added.
The former President mocked comparisons of the current administration with Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, saying the claims by the current government portrayed a state of illusion.
Stalwarts in attendance
The National Executives of the party, including the party’s running mate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang; the National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia; the General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey; the Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, and about 80 other NDC Members of Parliament (MPs) were present.
Also in attendance were former government appointees under the previous NDC administration and leaders of the 2024 campaign, including the Head of the Flag Bearer Campaign, Professor Joshua Alabi; the Deputy Campaign Coordinator in charge of Parliamentary Campaigns, Richard Quashigah; the Head of Running Mate Campaign, Alex Segbefia, and a former Chief of Staff, Prosper Bani.
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Key party stalwarts took turns to highlight the shortcomings of the current administration, decrying the escalating cost of living, economic conditions and perceived governance failures.
With each impassioned plea, the crowd's fervour intensified, as if sensing the winds of change were finally within reach.
Women empowerment
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, who is the first female running mate of a major political party in the country, said the NDC had well thought-through initiatives to economically empower women, including the establishment of the Women Development Bank, to empower one million women across the country with interest-free loans.
She said the initiatives had been included following complaints about strict requirements such as high collaterals demanded by banks and other financial institutions, which many of the potential female millionaires did not have.
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“Women are willing to support their husbands. If we empower them, it will make life easy for their families, and we expect our men to join this good cause by voting NDC into power,” she said.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang highlighted the potential benefits of empowering women in entrepreneurship, stressing that when women prospered, they invested in their children and wider families.
“There is better stability and peace at home; most will demand less ‘chop money’,” she said.
“What do they bring? All we are saying is that, it is a small amount, and you came for GH¢4,000 or GH¢5,000, you bring us back just the GH¢4,000 or GH¢5,000. Don’t bring any interest. A lot of the women go for GH¢2,000 loans, and they tell you to bring GH¢2,000 more,” she added.
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Handover
The party’s Chairman, Mr Asiedu Nketia, urged the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to publicly commit to a peaceful handover of power to the winner of the December 7 presidential election, while the General Secretary said no party faithful should rest until the ultimate was achieved.
The Spokesperson of the NDC flag bearer, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, told the Daily Graphic that the party chose Tamale for the campaign launch because since the era of former President Jerry John Rawlings, the party had not launched its campaign in the Northern Region.
“All we are saying is preaching the message of change because we need to reset the country,” she said.
Solidarity messages
Various groups, including the Creative Arts for Mahama, the Concerned Drivers Associations and the National Okada Riders Association, among others, illustrated how fuel prices had gone up in the last eight years under the NPP government, driving up the cost of transportation and living standards across the country.
On the creative arts front, celebrated musicians, Rex Omar and King Ayisoba, and media personalities Shemima Muslim and Kofi Okyere Darko, aka KOD, all urged the country’s youth, especially, to return the NDC to power, stressing that the present government had failed.