The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been the party of choice for young people. This is because the party has always given young people the opportunity to contribute to policy and help grow the party.
A 42-year-old accountant, Dickson Kurug Kpelim-etime, one of the eight parliamentary aspirants for the NDC in the Talensi constituency, said this when he spoke to A1 Radio’s Mark Smith on the Day Break Upper East Show.
He was speaking about the seeming heightened interest of the youth in the upcoming parliamentary primaries for the NDC, slated for May 13.
“Chairman Rawlings, where was he when he became leader of the country? The presumptive flagbearer, John Mahama, before he became MP, how old was he? So the youth have always contributed to our politics. They say the future belongs to the youth, but I say both the present and the future belong to the youth. We [the youth] have the interest, and the elders have the interest, but as a representative, you want to quickly do the work,” he said.
Currently, according to Mr. Kpelim-etime, the NDC has become increasingly attractive as opposed to the NPP, whose fortunes keep diminishing.
“NDC is becoming more attractive by the day. Now, the incompetence, or rather the super-competence, of Nana-Addo and Dr. Bawumia has made the NDCs [look like] angels. Everybody who is a well-meaning person, would want to be associated with the NDC. They feel that now we are the saviours of Ghana. The NDC is the saviour of Ghana. We are now going for the second independence of the country.”
“That is why you are seeing a lot of young professionals; medical doctors, accountants like myself, lawyers, teachers, nurses. Everybody wants to be associated with the great NDC. It is the only party that has the country at heart.”
Mr. Kpelim-etime explained that the NPP remains Ghana’s biggest development threat.
“The thorn in the flesh of Ghana is the destructive NPP. If you look at their days as UP and all, they have not had the country at heart. Everything they do is the opposite of what the country wants. Most of the policies go against the development of this country.”
Meanwhile, speaking to the media at the NDC’s Upper East Regional party office in Zuarungu, Dickson Kpelim-etime said his decision to join the NDC race was not because a vacancy was created but because of his desire to lobby for the transformation of the Talensi constituency.
“The Talensi constituency at this time does not just need a person to lead, but a person with a proven track record as a unifier, someone who is development-oriented, ability to create entrepreneurs, and a person who has shown a real commitment to employment and job creation.”
When given the mandate to serve the people of the constituency as MP, Mr. Kpelim-etime outlined 12 development pillars that he will implement to holistically transform our constituency and district.
These include; education, agriculture, health, tourism development, culture and festivals as economic drivers, entrepreneurship development, as well as natural and human resource management. The rest are sports development, infrastructure development, employment and job creation, disability empowerment, vulnerable welfare management, and the brand Talensi campaign.
In order to achieve the above far-reaching objectives, “I shall work with all relevant stakeholders in the constituency to establish the Talensi Development Board (TDB) which shall be the vehicle to deliver on this mandate”, he stated.
Dickson Kurug Kpelim-Etime has therefore called delegates of the NDC to vote massively for him to make history for posterity.
Mr. Kpelim-etime said he joined the NDC in the year 2000 and has remained a committed member ever since. In 2012, he said he was encouraged to contest on the ticket of the NDC in Talensi Constituency. But after picking and completing the nomination forms, he said he did not file for strategic reasons.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
