Youthful persons join NDC race in Volta Region
For the first time in more than a decade, it appears some relatively young persons have decided to join the race for leadership positions in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) branch in the Volta Region.
That would not be a new phenomenon though considering the fact that at the national level, the injection of youthfulness into the higher structures of the NDC began with the tenure of President Mills and seems to be continuing.
In the Volta Region, the current Regional Youth Organiser, Mr Maxwell Owusu-Siaw, is vying for the position of a regional organiser. Apart from him, Mr Mawutor Agbavitor is gunning for the regional chairman position, Mayor Agbleze is contesting for the position of Regional Propaganda Secretary while Pascal Agbagba is going for the post of Deputy Regional Secretary.
Key reasons
One of the main reasons for contesting, Mr Owusu-Siaw told the Daily Graphic, was the unimaginable level of apathy that was being demonstrated by party faithful in the region.
The apathy, he said, was amply demonstrated in the recent voter registration exercise where a good number of eligible people, especially the youth, did not register.
That trend, he said, was worrisome for any die-hard party member who was concerned about the welfare of the party.
Change of order
For a good number of persons within the rank and file of the NDC at the regional and national levels, Mr Owusu-Siaw’s move comes as a little surprise, considering his rich experience in working for the party from the branch, ward and constituency levels to the position he currently occupies.
“There is the need for change. The old order must yield place to the new. We need some youthfulness, realism and vibrancy to straighten the future of the party; otherwise, I fear,” he stated.
Mr Owusu-Siaw’s vision for the position of a regional organiser is centred on four thematic areas.
Those areas, he said, were humility and respect for the masses, building a strong and more united party, enhanced resource mobilisation and a resounding victory in 2016.
He said the time for bossiness and pride over one’s position in the party must be set aside since political positions were supposed to be positions of service and not for one person to command others.
Everyone matters
“It is about living as a family where everyone’s view, no matter how small the person may be, would be respected and counted and that is the new kind of leadership I intend to bring on board,” he said.
His line of action, he said, would involve an invocation of his problem-solving skills to engage with the grass-roots supporters and to find out their peculiar challenges and to work out solutions together with them.
That, he said, would show more commitment in “partaking in the challenges of the kingmakers and brainstorming with them to find solution; one for all and all for one.”
With elaborate plans for resource mobilisation, which he said he would not elaborate on, and a rejuvenation of the fortunes of the party, “a predictable stride to a resounding victory would be guaranteed in the 2016 elections.”
His experience
Mr Owusu-Siaw started his political career as a chairman of the Nkonya-Ntumda branch in the Biakoye Constituency from 1996 to 1998 and rose through the ranks to become a ward chairman within the same period.
He progressed to the position of a constituency chairman from 1998-2009 and became the deputy regional organiser of the NDC from 2001 to 2005.
He is currently the Regional Youth Organiser, a position he has held since 2005.
His chequered experience undoubtedly makes him one of the pillars of the party.
His role in handling the challenges that came up in the Nkwanta North Constituency that saw the NDC winning that seat, which hitherto was for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), also is key.