Aspirant for Deputy National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fohad Agbenyadzi, has proposed the commercialisation of the party’s youth wing through the establishment of business entities to generate sustainable revenue ,create jobs and reduce dependence on political financiers.
Mr. Fohad Agbenyadzi said the initiative would involve leveraging the youth wing’s non-political assets and services and establishing commercially operated entities whose proceeds could support the activities and welfare of youth organisers.
Speaking to constituency youth organisers in the Eastern Region as part of his nationwide campaign tour, he said the current dependence on individuals and wealthy financiers to fund party activities could create obligations for the party when it assumes political power.
“I have realised that as a party, we don’t have any source of income. And so what we do is that we go to people, we go to financiers and beg them for funding our activities,” he said.
According to him, financiers who provide financial support to the party could later return to demand government appointments or contracts, creating pressure on the government.
Mr Agbenyadzi said if elected, he would propose to the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the party to establish a company to be known as Youth Wing Ghana Limited.
He explained that the proposed company would participate in legitimate private-sector tendering processes, secure projects and use proceeds from its operations to support the financial needs of the youth wing.
“This company will go into the private sector, go into the normal tendering processes and win contracts and do projects and then get funding to support the activities of the youth wing,” he said.
He said the proposal was intended to create an independent and sustainable source of funding for the youth wing rather than relying predominantly on donations and individual financiers.
The aspirant also proposed the establishment of a Youth Wing Insurance Company Limited as part of measures to improve the welfare of constituency youth organisers.
Fohad Agbenyadzi said despite the important role youth organisers play in maintaining the party’s grassroots structures, there was currently no comprehensive insurance or welfare arrangement to protect them in times of accidents and other emergencies.
“If you are a youth organiser today and you are working for the party and something happens to you, we don’t have anything like insurance for you,” he said.
He proposed that youth organisers be covered under a life insurance policy to provide financial assistance in the event of accidents and help meet related medical and hospital expenses.
He also suggested that NDC members could be encouraged to patronise the proposed insurance service, creating an additional revenue stream for the youth wing.
“The more they patronise the insurance company, the more we sustain the youth wing financially,” he said.
More resources for grassroots organisers
Fohad Agbenyadzi who is currently Deputy National Coordinator for National Apprenticeship Program in Charge of Operation further called for greater financial and logistical support for constituency youth organisers, arguing that adequately resourced organisers would be better positioned to mobilise support and strengthen the party at the grassroots.
“When you have youth organisers who are broke at the constituency level, there’s no way they can give you good results,” he said.
He promised to advocate for a system under which constituency youth organisers would receive greater support, saying the strength of the party depended significantly on the effectiveness of its grassroots structures.
Addressing concerns among some NDC supporters over access to government opportunities, Mr Agbenyadzi said he expected the situation to improve from next year.
He attributed the current situation partly to the challenges he said the government inherited from the previous administration, adding that the government was working to address those challenges.
He said a new leadership of the youth wing would engage government appointees and impress upon them the need to support the party’s grassroots structures.
Dismisses NPP threat
Commenting on recent National election of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Fohad Agbenyadzi described the party as “dead and gone” and said the NDC should instead concentrate on strengthening its own structures and empowering its youth.
He also dismissed the potential impact of the new national executives of the NPP particularly the National Youth Organiser, arguing that the opposition party’s leadership does not represent a significant departure from its previous administration.
Mr Agbenyadzi said his priority was to build a stronger and better-resourced NDC youth wing through sustainable financing, improved welfare and greater support for constituency-level organisers to help retain the party in power to develop Ghana to a level that the youth of Ghana will be economically empowered .
