'Why Spio-Garbrah will be good NDC flagbearer' essay competition launched

A flag bearer aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has observed that the success of the NDC in the 2020 election will depend largely on how the party's elected communicators will market the party's messages and Presidential candidate.

He has stressed the need for NDC communicators to develop more interest in research to sharpen their communication skills.

Dr Spio-Garbrah has, therefore, launched an essay competition for the about 29,000 NDC elected communicators at the branch and constituency levels, as well as aspiring regional and national communicators to write an essay on "Why, do you think Dr Spio-Garbrah will be a good Leader of NDC and a very good President of Ghana."

He told journalists that the competition was to encourage NDC communicators to do research and come out with a well-written essay about him.

Dr Spio-Garbrah said the idea was to improve the written and spoken communication of the party's communicators.

For instance, he said, the communicators would appreciate the need to research around topical issues and do further consultations before debating with their political opponents.

The communicators have up to August 15, 2018 to submit their entries, and a panel of experts under the supervision of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is to mark the papers.

Prices

The overall winner is to receive GHc 3,000; second place, GHc 2,000; third place, GHc 1,000, while fourth and fifth will receive GHc500 each.

The first three winners will have the opportunity of receiving internship in communication under the tutelage of Dr Spio-Garbrah for some months.

Dr Spio-Garbrah said he would also make arrangement for the winners to further their education in or outside the country.

Brief profile

Dr Spio-Garbrah served in different portfolios in the Rawlings and Mahama administrations. He is a former Minister of Communications, Minister of Education and former Minister of Trade and Industry.

He also previously served as Ghana's Ambassador to the United States of America (USA) and Mexico. He is a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) based in London.

In 2006, Dr Spio-Garbrah lost the NDC contest to the then Professor John Evans Atta Mills.

Other aspirants for the NDC flag-bearer contest for the 2020 election are former President John Dramani Mahama; Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin; the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Professor Joshua Alabi, and the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester Mensah.