Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, a flagbearer hopeful of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has promised to work with all groups within the party to build a solid party, with innovative structures that will sustain the party’s social-democratic values.
Accordingly, he has declared his readiness to work with other aspirants to “pursue the trio-principles of probity, integrity and accountability, which values have shaped the people-centred orientation of our great party.”
The campaign launch saw in attendance some bigwigs within the party including Brigadier-General Nunoo Mensah, a three-time Chief of Defence Staff, Dr. Kwame Ampofo, former Chairman of the Energy Commission, and members of the Spio-Garbrah Campaign Team including Dr. Yaw Akoto, the former Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST).
The event also saw awards being presented to winners of a writing competition organized by the Spio-Garbrah Campaign Team on the topic “Why do you think Dr Spio-Garbrah will make a good Presidential Candidate” Michael Ofotsu Portuphy who emerged the ultimate winner was presented with a certificate and a cash prize of GHC 3,000.
In a speech delivered at the campaign launch dubbed ‘Forward Agenda’ to win the flagbearership slot of the NDC for the 2020 General Elections, Dr. Spio-Garbrah stated that high level of “national malaise, a growing social focus on wealth-by-any-means, a complete drift in national prioritization, an abandonment of the public interest for the personal interest, and rising incidents of corruption in high places” have necessitated the development of the ‘Forward Agenda’ by the Spio-Garbrah Campaign Team “to propose an alternative narrative for the NDC.”
“The Forward Agenda mission,” he says “is not for the NDC to retreat into the dark, decrepit and depressive defeat of the past, but for NDC members to look forward with hope and expectancy towards the bright lights of our revival, regeneration, restoration, restitution and successes of our future.”
Dr Spio-Garbrah’s speech also touched on a plethora of issues including his career history, international experiences, time in government since 1993 and his vision for the nation as a whole, the astute communicator ably demonstrated his huge depth of knowledge and key traits that stand him out among the various candidates who have declared their intention to contest the NDC flagbearership race. His extensive professional experience which traverses international development bodies such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the depth of knowledge and skills acquired from the various Ministerial portfolios held since 1993, he believes, arm him with enough knowledge and exposure to be a good flagbearer of the NDC and subsequently a good leader of the country, if elected.
Emphasizing the need for the NDC to stick to its core values, Dr Spio-Garbrah admonished the NDC to refrain from competing with and imitating the New Patriotic Party (NPP) “with respect to their love for ostentatious lifestyles and the scramble for individual financial prosperity at the expense of the public good.”
He decried the NDC’s deviation from its core principles, saying “there is a general view held by many political observers that over the last ten years or so, the NDC has strayed significantly from the core values espoused by President Rawlings and many of its members have become enchanted with some aspects of the culture of our leading opponents—the NPP.”
With the launch of his campaign, Dr Spio-Garbrah’s journey to lead the NDC has gained steam and the candidate is expected to hit all corners of the country with his 7-Point Agenda to sell himself to the over 270,000 delegates who are likely to vote in the party’s presidential primaries. The 7-Point Agenda, among other things, talks about “Creating a Credit Union for the NDC; Assisting the Youth with Education, Skills Training and Jobs; and Creating National and Regional Business Development Committees.”