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09.03.2009 NDC

Volta NDC goes wild

By Daily Guide
Volta NDC goes wild
09.03.2009 LISTEN

President John Atta Mills Having been crying foul in recent days over what they call the 'deliberate attempt by President John Evans Atta Mills not to recognize their efforts in the last general elections', some Volta regional executives of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have reportedly drafted their resignation letters, with rumours of defection also looming. 

According to DAILY GUIDE's investigations, about 13 of the 18 regional executives have made up their minds to resign from their current positions whiles the rest, as at press time, were reported to be undecided.

Some of the executives who spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity are aggrieved as “they cannot understand what the President is up to”.

They told this paper that “we are not asking the President to give all of us appointments but at least one or two people should have been given some positions to show appreciation for their efforts in rallying support for the party in the region.”

To them, the inability of the President to appreciate their efforts is clear sign that he is probably not in control of issues himself.

A deep throat source within the rank and file of the party in the region complained that their struggles for the party to come to power have been in vain “as people who contributed nothing to the success of the party are now the beneficiaries.”

They hinted that most of them have applied for one position or the other but the President seemed to be telling them that “not even one of us is qualified for even a deputy ministerial position,” a development they described is a big insult by the President's Appointments Committee.

The source explained that some of the appointments made so far seemed so outrageous, mentioning for instance one particular appointee (name withheld) for a deputy ministerial position, who allegedly refused to join the campaign team of her constituency when the parliamentary candidate was sick just because she lost in the primaries.

It explained further that the said appointee relaxed and refused to contribute her quota “but now the story seems different as this person has been appointed leaving those of us who struggled to our fate,” describing the beneficiary as a mere O-Level holder.

They noted that they could not belong to a party that refuses to appreciate people by how hard they work but by who they know or can contact.

To them, the only alternative left is to quit as executives and join the casual members or leave for other political parties.

Sounding very demoralized and frustrated, a number of them alleged that the party is fond of using them as election machines, only to be dumped after power is gained, stressing that the injustice must end.

Asked whether they were not jumping the gun since the President still had Municipal and District Chief Executives to pick, the executives said the involvement of chiefs in the lobbying process was making their chances slimmer than ever.

One dangerous development, according to them, was the manner in which the Anlo chieftaincy vacuum is being strongly used as a bargaining chip in the selection process of DCE for the area.

But contrary to the regional executives' views, other residents of the region say they have been highly disappointed by the performances of people from the region who had been appointed ministers by previous administrations, and wondered if those executives crying wolf today would be any different when appointed.

“How can a person like Dan Abodapki be a Trade Minister for several years and yet there is not a single factory in the region? Left to me alone, the President should forget about that slogan of regional balance and pick only competent people to work with,” says Wisdom Dali, a Ho-based businessman.

According to Mr. Dali, people like Victor Gbeho, Clend Sowu, Kofi Dzamesi, Steve Obimpeh, Agbenazer and Ahiable have all failed to transform the region when they had their chances, and asked all power-hungry politicians in the region to shut up.

Some other party gurus the paper spoke to were however of the view that the executive members should be patient since not all those appointed would finish the four-year term of the President.

“Definitely, some would be falling on the way while others would be added. Why then should they worry? Their time would come,” he said. The low morale in the party is most pronounced in the Ho Central, Ketu North, Ketu South, Keta and Avenor-Ave Constituencies.

From Wise Donkor, Ho, with additional files from Bennett Akuaku

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