By Lawrence Odoom
Dr. James Kofi Annan, the National Democratic Congress 2020 and 2024 Parliamentary Candidate for Effutu Constituency, has fully underwritten the cost of nomination forms and four-year membership dues for all 1,350 NDC branch executives across the Effutu constituency.
The sweeping intervention, valued at GHC60,000, effectively dismantles financial barriers ahead of the party’s impending branch elections, ensuring that every eligible executive can contest without the encumbrance of statutory fees.
Per the party’s guidelines, each branch executive was statutorily required to pay GHC20 as a nomination fee and GHC24 to cover four years of membership dues , an aggregate of GHC44 per individual.
In a decisive move, Dr. Annan has lodged the entire sum with the Effutu Constituency Executives.
“This is not charity. This is investment in the bedrock of our party,” a senior constituency source disclosed, quoting Dr. Annan. “Our branch executives are the sentinels of the NDC’s future. When we unshackle them from financial constraints, we unleash the full force of grassroots democracy. No comrade should be priced out of service.”
The funds, now in the custody of the Constituency Treasury, guarantee that all 1,350 executives spanning the length and breadth of Effutu can complete and submit their nomination forms unimpeded.
“Dr. Annan’s gesture is unprecedented in its scale and spirit,” remarked a branch chairman who sought anonymity. “He has lifted a burden off the shoulders of the grassroots. Now, the contest will be about competence, loyalty, and vision not cash.”
Constituency officials have confirmed receipt of the GHC60,000 deposit and urged all branch executives desirous of contesting to expedite the completion of their forms.
“We express profound gratitude to Dr. James Kofi Annan for this audacious act of solidarity,” a statement from the constituency secretariat noted. “His action reinforces the principle that the NDC is a mass party, anchored by the people and for the people. The process is now open, transparent, and accessible to all.”
Branch executives seeking further clarification have been directed to liaise with the Constituency Treasurer for procedural guidance.
The intervention is already reverberating across Effutu, with party faithful hailing it as a watershed moment for internal democracy and grassroots revitalization ahead of the 2028 general elections.
“Elections are won at the branch level,” Dr. Annan was further quoted as saying. “When we fortify the branches, we fortify the NDC. Effutu must lead, and Effutu will lead.”