The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has assured the Paramount Chief of Tamale Divisional Area (Lameshena), Iddrisu Mohammed, that his administration has the interest of retired party executives at heart.
He said it is for this reason that a welfare department has been created to ensure that persons who sacrifice for the party are taken care of in their time of need.
During Mr Nketiah’s ‘Thank You Tour’ of the Tamale South Constituency of the Northern Region on May 21, Lameshena Iddrisu Mahammed drew his attention to what he described as a disturbing phenomenon.
“…my third point has to do with the disjoint between former members of the party. It is so appalling. If you are no more an executive member, then it means that that ends it,” the Chief lamented.
He explained that, “If you go into statistics, all these things erode the fortunes of the party because a former member of the party happened to retire and now lives a hopeless life. What do you expect the children to do? I witnessed some of these issues. We have gone into some of these issues. As of now, there are many of such issues that I handle every day, morning, afternoon, evening.”
He therefore called for measures to address the situation.
“The party must put up something, at least to look at it. If not, the future is not so good,” he warned.
In response, the National Chairman noted that the welfare of retired members is very much on the front burner of his administration.
“Chief, I agree with you. And that is why, when I became General Secretary, I established the Heroes Fund. The purpose was to deal with the small, small problems of former executives, old cadres, and everybody who has spent his life serving NDC. When he gets into trouble, there must be something to help him. Otherwise, his children, when they see his fate, they will say that NDC is not worth dying for,” Mr Nketiah explained.
He said, “the first attempt in establishing the Heroes Fund did not succeed because many people in the party did not understand my intentions. And so, since becoming a National Chairman, I established the Welfare Department of the party. And that is why wherever I go, I carry the Director of Welfare.”
The National Chairman stated that, “We are now working to strengthen the Welfare Department. So, when people serve us, and later they grow old and they need our help, the party should also be able to reciprocate what they have done.”
He assured that “By the time we end our term, we should be able to at least boast that NDC, when you struggle for NDC, and you need the help of NDC, NDC will be available to help you.”
