By Osei-Tutu Esther Kumah
Aspiring National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Akwasi Opong-Fosu, has expressed concern that financial resources are increasingly influencing the party’s leadership selection process at the expense of commitment to its ideals and principles.
Speaking on GBC’s The National Discourse programme, Dr. Opong-Fosu described the trend as transactional politics and called for systems that identify and recognise members, based on their commitment, skills, competencies and contributions to the party.
Reflecting on his political journey, Dr Opong-Fosu said he was appointed District Secretary at the age of 24, shortly after leaving school, following his involvement in student activism and leadership.
He said his participation in student politics and his commitment to the ideals of the June 4th Movement helped shape his emergence into party leadership.
However, he argued that the current political environment allows individuals with financial resources to contest and assume leadership positions without necessarily demonstrating the same level of commitment to the party’s founding principles.
“Now everybody can come from anywhere if they have the resources” he said
Dr Opong-Fosu said his proposed reforms would focus on reconnecting the party’s grassroots base with its national leadership and reducing members’ dependence on influential individuals to access opportunities.
He explained that a centralised membership database would help the party identify members’ skills, competencies and contributions and connect them to available opportunities through established structures.
He also proposed educating members on the meaning of party membership and how the new systems would operate to serve their interests.
According to him, members must understand and support the proposed changes for the reforms to achieve their intended results.
Dr Opong-Fosu further identified communication gaps between the party’s grassroots and national leadership as a concern, noting that some members resort to social media to express frustrations because they lack confidence in existing channels for submitting concerns.
He said his proposed structure would strengthen communication from the branch level through constituency and regional offices to the national headquarters, giving members a clearer channel to engage party leadership.
He maintained that the reforms would help build a party in which members feel recognised and have confidence that their concerns will receive attention.
The proposals form part of his broader of Restoration, Renewal and Resetting known as the “3Rs vision”, as he seeks the National Chairmanship of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
