NDC now lame horse — Dan Abodakpi

A former Member of Parliament for Keta on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Dan Abodakpi, has described the party as a lame horse incapable of securing victory.

He said any attempt by the leadership of the party at reorganisation must involve curing the lameness of the horse to better position it to lead the party into victory.

A former Minister of Trade and Industry was speaking at a forum organised by the United Cadre Front and other bodies affiliated to the NDC last Saturday in Tema.

"Assuming that you are running a race with a strong horse which has become lame, can you ride the horse to victory? So, it is our collective responsibility to think through the actions that will heal the horse, strengthen the horse so that when we get a rider, however capable that rider is, he will have a very strong horse that will carry him to victory," he said.

He said it was unfortunate that the NDC had become what he described as “a huge elephant” standing on clay feet hence the need for the party to revert to its roots and promote participatory democracy at the branch and ward levels.

Reorganisation of branches

A former Minister of Health and Defence, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, said what used to be known as grassroots in the NDC had been uprooted and turned upside down.

According to him, his statistics showed that 62 per cent of what the party called branches were only voting machines to get people elected at the appropriate time.

"When you sit in Accra with the illusion of having a grassroots party, then you are living in a dream world," he stated.

For his part, a member of the party, Mr Augustus Goosie Tanoh, said the party needed to reignite the sense of ownership, collective endeavour and a spirit of volunteerism that was associated with the party in the past.

The NDC parliamentary candidate for Tema Central in the 2020 election, Ms Ebi Bright, stressed the need for the party to deploy mediation tools to reconcile party members to secure in future elections.

writer's email benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh