Dr. Kwabena Duffuor lift nomination forms as the Ashanti Regional Women’s Organiser, Gloria Huze and others look on
The Ashanti Regional Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Gloria Huze, has endorsed Dr. Kwabena Duffuor’s bid to contest for the flagbearership race of the party.
Gloria Huze, who was accompanied by some branch executives of the party from the region, made this known in an interview with a cross section of journalists after presenting the nomination forms to the flagbearer hopeful, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, at his Osu residence in Accra yesterday.
The Women’s Organiser described Dr. Duffuor as the best person under Ghana’s economic circumstances to lead the party to wrest power from the NPP given his background and experience in the governance architecture of the country during the erstwhile late Prof. Mills’s-led administration.
According to her, women constitute majority of the population who are engaged in one productive venture or the other and, therefore, need someone who has the grassroots at heart to lead the party and eventually turn Ghana’s economic challenges around.
She said “we believe in him so all the women, some of them executives from some of the branches from the Eastern, Ashanti and Central regions and many others contributed and purchased the nomination forms for Dr. Duffuor. We feel excited about this move we have made for him.”
Dr. Duffuor joins former President John Dramani Mahama, businessman Ernest Kwaku Kobeah and Kojo Bonsu, former Mayor of Kumasi, who have also picked their nomination forms.
The Ashanti Regional Women’s Organiser led a delegation of women and supporters to pick the nomination forms on behalf of Dr. Duffuor at the party’s head office in Accra.
Dr. Duffuor, who addressed some party supporters after receiving the nomination forms, said his decision to lead the NDC to capture power from the NPP in the 2024 presidential elections was informed by calls from the grassroots of the party who want a change in the face of political governance of the country. They want a new face with traceable track record, he added.
According to him, he had no option than to respond to the calls for a change in who leads the NDC, and subsequently capture power for the party in 2024. Dr. Duffuor said he made several consultations with his family, friends, stakeholders of the NDC and many Ghanaians before taking the decision.
He said, “Extensive surveys carried out across the country and among the grassroots, revealed that the people of Ghana want change in the direction of our governance. The people want that change to be led by a new face, a new face and a new man who has the practical know-how, who has a traceable track record, integrity and love for his people and who will lead Ghana from the front.”
The former Finance Minister stated that he would among other priorities empower the constituencies and branch executives of the party politically and more importantly economically when elected as the leader of the party.
Duffuor also said that the era where workers of the party remained unemployed and hungry would be a thing of the past, as he would ensure that his flagship ‘Ahotor project’ launched last year would help provide support to many members of the party.
“Under no circumstances should any party worker be unemployed and hungry while carrying out party duties. It is a gross disrespect to see our grassroots unemployed, financially stressed and hungry, and yet we expect them to dutifully carry out party activities,” he remarked.
Touching on some of his economic track records as part of the NDC administration, Dr. Duffuor said Ghana’s GDP which grew at the rate of 14.5 per cent with the longest sustained single-digit inflation of 8.3 per cent for 32 months between 2009 and 2012, was anchored on economic prudence and planning hatched by him.
He further said the NDC under his watch as the Finance Minister also recorded the highest ever Gross International reserves of over 5 billion dollars, while the country also achieved over I million metric tons of cocoa output between 2010 and 2011.
He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to support his candidacy as the flagbearer of the party to wrest power from the NPP, with a new team and new leadership to urgently reverse Ghana’s current plight.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah