It has become an accepted notion that the show of apathy by the people of Volta Region against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) contributed significantly to its defeat in the 2016 elections.

For that matter, the party in the region has been working hard to win the trust of the people because it is believed that their low turnout during the 2020 elections was to register their dissatisfaction at the low level of development in the region despite their loyalty to the NDC party then in power.

The agenda to win back the region is being gingered by the cadres of the party as they have vowed to work hard to re-organise their members and regain the favour of the people.

The cadres assured the party leadership that they were prepared to do all within their power to reverse the situation in 2016, and therefore leaving no stone unturned because they know “where the stones are” to build a formidable team for victory in 2020.

The Volta regional chairman of the cadres’ corps, Mr Frank Adoba, in an interview with Daily Graphic disclosed that the cadres were now very active in the region compared to the past years.

This was when a group of cadres led by their leaders visited the NDC regional office to congratulate the new executives, including the regional chairman, Mr Henry Ametefee, who they said was also a cadre.

Who is a cadre?

The cadres were a unit under the Provisional National Defence Council under the leadership of former President Jerry John Rawlings, then serving as Flight Lieutenant J.J. Rawlings, under a military regime and who were committed to the ideals of the December 31, 1981 revolution.

It was crafted with the principles and values that were the main ingredients for the December 31 revolution that emphasised creating a basis for the attainment of social justice, grassroots participatory democracy, probity and accountability in public life, rapid national development and social progress.

Later it changed into a group of PNDC/National Democratic Congress (NDC) operatives and appointees, including former regional and district secretaries, former Members of Parliament (MPs) and some former service personnel of the 64 Battalion.

Failure of the NDC

Mr Adoba disclosed that the NDC was a mass movement led by the cadres and that the reason why the party failed to meet its expectation in the 2016 elections was because the party had lost touch with the cadres and grass-root members of the party.

The NDC had in the past remained the choice of the people of the region, he said but because the cadres were no longer involved in the affairs of the party, the die-hard spirit of the people waned.

Over the past eight years, he recounted that cadres in the region had not been involved in the party affairs, adding ‘we have been neglected although we are ready to do the work for the party.”,

He said the party could not perform better without the cadres because “we know the path, and we chart the path.”

Despite their frustrations in the past, the chairman of the cadres indicated that they were ready to rise up to the task of bringing the NDC back to power, especially at the time that they had more of their members at the helm of affairs in the region and were ready to work with them.

Also, he said, it was coincidental with a time when the New Patriotic Party government (NPP) had failed to deliver its promises to the people, including the one district one factory mantra.

“The NDC is the love of the Volta Region because it is the party that has the interest of the people at heart, and therefore must win the love back by all means,” he said.

‘We will go down to the people to mobilise the grassroots’, he assured but called for a strong collaboration between the leadership of the party and the cadres.

Power back to the people

The Volta Regional Chairman of the NDC, Mr Henry Ametefee, said the party was ready to give back the power to the people to demonstrate their love for the party in their branches and communities.

According to him, the region had not benefitted much under the NPP government.

“Our roads for the past three years, for instance, are not receiving attention from this government.”

He said although the government had enjoyed relative peace since it came to power, little had been achieved despite the many promises to the people.

“President John Mahama was in court for eight months but look at the enormous infrastructure that sprung up during his time in office. Although he did not enjoy the peace this government is enjoying, he managed to achieve more for the country compared to President Nana Akufo- Addo,” he pointed out.

That, he said, went to show that the NDC was a better choice compared to the NPP and called on all to come on board to bring the party back to serve the people.

He thanked the cadres for their spirit of togetherness, indicating that with their commitment, they were able to encourage more people to register during the limited voters’ registration exercise which had seen a significant number of 82,000 people registering, a figure which he said, was higher than the previous one of 56,000 in 2016.