The General Secretary of the opposition NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has proclaimed the Ahotɔ business project (a private initiative of Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, former Minister for Finance and leading NDC member) as a project that is first in history for any political party in Ghana.
The General Secretary also known as General Mosquito was speaking during a party occasion to officially endorse and launch the Ahotɔ Project at the NDC Headquarters in Adabraka, Accra on Thursday.
He said he was not surprised it was Dr. Kwabena Duffuor who initiated the historic NDC Ahotɔ project because he was the same Finance Minister who turned Ghana’s economy around.
“This project is the first of its kind since our party was established. We have been engaging with the donor and we want to collaborate with Dr. Duffuor to structure the project very well in accordance with the party’s principles, procedures and laws. This is what caused the delay in officially endorsing the project’’.
Asiedu Nketiah also reiterated the importance of donations, dues, and contributions to the continual running of the opposition party and encouraged party members and the general public to emulate the example of Kwabena Duffuor as the party prepares to wrestle power in 2024 from the ruling NPP government.
‘’We survive on dues, contributions and donations from members of the public and our own members. We have been receiving donations from former appointees of the party. We’re proud to say that the donor of the Ahotɔ project, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, is a former appointee of the NDC government who worked as governor of the bank of Ghana and a finance minister who turned things around between 2009-2012’’.
He further praised the Ahotɔ project as a sustainable one which will not only earn income for the party, but will also save the party lots of money as the party will no longer have to rent a PA system, chairs and canopies for its own outdoor programs.
‘’This money could have been used in buying consumables, like the NPP were distributing frozen chicken parts in the last elections’’. The general secretary continued, ‘’This Ahotɔ project is intended to build the capacity of the party structure to run effectively. It is not going to provide anybody pocket money. It is a contribution that will support the party itself to grow, to develop its own capacity to finance its activities and I think that in that sense it is a very commendable project’’.
While admonishing NDC constituency executives who may lose their positions in the up-coming internal elections to leave behind the party property in the offices, the NDC general secretary announced that the NDC party will deploy some of its officers to go to the various constituencies to provide training on how to manage the Ahotɔ business project profitably and promised the party would run the business efficiently in order to attract more such donations from the former finance minister.
NDC National chairman Ofosu Ampofo, who was earlier allegedly opposed to the party adoption of the Duffuor initiative took the stage and emphatically denied any such attempts by himself or others in the national executive committee to sabotage the Ahotɔ business project.
‘’NDC wants to approach the 2024 elections as communal labor. The party does not earn income but the party must pay its bills at the end of the month. The party runs effectively despite not earning income because of the donations of party members and that is why we standing here will be the last people to oppose anybody who supports the party with projects like this’’.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor told the gathering that his main motivation for initiating the Ahotɔ business project is to empower the party grassroots structures to kick the ruling NPP out of power in 2024.
‘’The party grassroots must be financially and logistically resourced for the battle ahead in 2024. This is what the Ahotɔ project is all about but this is only the first out of many other projects that will spring up for the benefit of the NDC grassroots’’.
Four rooms of canopies, 100 plastic chairs, and a full set of Public Address system worth Ghc 30,000 comprises the Ahotɔ business suite that was handed over to the NDC national executives for onward transmission to the Klottey Korle constituency, the second after Ashaiman constituency to so far benefit directly from the party business project.
