The Greater Accra Regional Organiser of the ruling New Patriotic Party – NPP, Mr. Prince Obeng has made a strong commitment to ensuring that volunteers who worked in various constituencies in Greater Accra region in past elections are catered for in 2019 and beyond.
He highlighted some opportunities ranging from jobs, business loans and educational scholarships as some of the empowerment schemes he has identified for volunteers in the region.
The regional organiser gave the assurances when he met voluntary group leaders in the party office on Sunday to discuss among other things strategies to win the Ayawaso West Wuogon By-election that is slated for 31 January, 2019.The ‘GARO’ encouraged volunteers to give their all to the party despite the fact that not all volunteers have benefitted directly from their efforts in 2016.
He added that he is very fortunate to have a volunteer-friendly boss in the person of Sammi Awuku who is so passionate about empowering volunteers and so making a case for volunteers for his approval is not a difficult task.
Prince Obeng enumerated plans he has taken to bring volunteers together, coordinate their activities and ensure that their actions fall in line with the overall strategic plan of the region. He mentioned the ‘V20 Committee’ as the first step towards streamlining the activities of volunteers so that excesses are managed very well. This he said, is to forge a peaceful coexistence between volunteers and constituency executives, particularly constituency organisers so that they can compliment one another to get the job done.
He said that he doesn’t want to imagine conflicts occurring in constituencies that are occasioned by disunity between volunteers and constituency executives.
The Regional Organizer also indicated that the practice where volunteers got into constituencies to work without the consent, prior knowledge and proper coordination with the gate keepers and elders of the constituency won’t be allowed to happen this time, hence the need for proper coordination.
“When volunteers are coordinated properly, it positions them well for opportunities as and when they come, and matching competences and qualifications against available openings and opportunities becomes easier” GARO added.
On the Ayawaso West Wuogon By-election, the regional organiser indicated that it would be a test case for the party, it is an election whose results, all other things being equal, would test the popularity of the party with the electorates. He therefore entreated all volunteers to avail themselves for the campaign.
He asked volunteers to work hard in the designated electoral areas so that the New Patriotic Party’s candidate, Lydia Seyram Alhassan becomes the next Member of Parliament for the constituency.