NDC Introducing Party Philosophy

A major process to educate members and supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) with the Party�s distinct all-round national development policy preferences, is underway. The process, Dr Karl Mark Arhin, NDC�s Deputy Director of the International Relations observed, would as much as possible, bring the mass following of the ruling political party in line with its Social Democratic direction. Dr Arhin was speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday on the sidelines of a capacity building workshop for NDC Women�s Organisers across the country, in Ho. He said the process had effectively put the NDC into a new phase of party development, which should make it reflect its National Democratic principles better. Dr Arhin said the workshop held in collaboration with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of Denmark was part of a series of engagements of various segments of the NDC. He conceded that many party members and enthusiasts; including some high office holders had only murky ideas about the political direction. �The process would not take a year, not five years and even 10 years but a continual one to bring the NDC quite totally in tune with Social Democratic principles,� Dr Arhin stressed. He said the targeted groups within the Party are women, youth and institutional wings and that the NDC had started formal education programmes in this vein, which are running at a Party School. Dr Arhin said only social democratic policies, which better input the needs of all segments of society into development planning, could tackle the dire socio-economic situation in the country and certainly not the �laissez faire stance of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).� He said the contention that NPP introduced more social protection policies than the NDC was a fluke and could not stand scrutiny. Dr Arhin said the NDC is a full member of Socialist International and had since 2012 established a pact with the SDP of Denmark. Simon Redder Thomsen, a Consultant of SDP, Denmark, said the political direction, which determine policies as well as quality of governance, are equally important for the development of any nation. He said Social Democracy is only a different perception of how a state should develop, and big business interests do not suffocate the interest of others. Mr Thomsen said corruption is a major setback in good governance in third world countries. Justice Yeboah, Staffer, NDC National Headquarters with links to Coalition for Integrity in Governance said national resources, regardless of their geographical location in the country must be exploited to the benefit of all Ghanaians. Umar Memunatu, NDC Women�s Organizer, Mion Constituency in the Northern Region said the workshop would scale up the role of women in strengthening the ideological foundations of the NDC. Three representatives from nine regions and 13 from the Volta Region, host region, attended the two-day workshop.