Finance NDC propagandists – Minister orders assembly

At a time the government is struggling to mobilise funds for development projects and pay salaries of workers, the party’s propaganda officers are expected to have their breads well-buttered from the meagre funds at the disposal of the district assemblies in the Ashanti Region.

The Regional Minister, Samuel Sarpong, has directed Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives(MMDCEs) to set aside a special budget to support the communication machinery of the ruling National Democratic Congress(NDC).

The MMDCEs will be saddled with the responsibility of shouldering the cost of the party’s propaganda (now communication) activities in all the 47 constituencies in the Ashanti Region.

The ruling party has set its sight on achieving an ambitious one million votes in the region and additional 10 constituency seats and has identified the strengthening of its propaganda machinery as one of the major factors towards realizing the dream.

The over 47 party constituency communication officers, including their deputies, making up 94 officers, will be funded and catered for by the MMDCEs in order to prosecute the party’s agenda of securing one million votes in the region, which is undoubtedly the stronghold of its biggest opponent the NPP.

Hon. Samuel Sarpong, who gave the directive at a workshop organized by the party’s Regional Communication Wing, said in the interim, the government would supply members with smart phones and iPads to help them gather information and conduct the necessary research to enhance the communication efficiency of the party.

“I am going to instruct all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to make funds available to you for your activities; meanwhile I can promise you that by Monday you will have your smart phones and other electronic gadgets to start your work,” Hon. Sarpong stated, amidst cheers from the 94 participants who took part in the workshop.

The workshop, which was under the auspices of the Regional Communications Officer, Mr. Samed Akalilu, was aimed amongst other things, to build the capacity of the 94 officers on how to effectively communicate policies and programmes of the party and to defend the government against attacks and criticisms.

It follows a promise made by the party’s Regional Communication Officer during his campaign to enhance the communication skills of its members. The workshop was under the theme “Effective and Efficient Communication, A catalyst for One Million Votes in Ashanti Region”.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, therefore, emphasized the need for the party’s communication officers to upgrade their knowledge on current political issues and be able to make cogent arguments on various media platforms and to also sell the policies and programme of the government.

He said in order to achieve that, members should possess confidence and cultivate the habit of constantly seeking information through research, stressing further that the communicators must guard against any attempt by groups and individuals to use them as a conduit to pursue their selfish interest and create disaffection within the party.

Samed Akalilu on his part said his major objective was to help officers acquire the needed skills by resourcing them adequately to market the policies and programmes of the party. He chastised the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for engaging in political desperation, emphasizing that members of the NPP were overwhelmed by the performance of the NDC in the Ashanti Region.

According to him, the reasons being adduced by the opposition party for embarking on the impending demonstration were far from the realities on the grounds, contending that the track record of President John Dramani Mahama, as far as development in the region was concerned, is glaring for all to see.

“Talk about the expansion of Kumasi Airport, the Shoe Factory, Hospitals and roads infrastructure spread across the length and breadth of the region,” he noted.