What appeared to be a meeting to boost the morale and whip up enthusiasm in the Virginia branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), ended up being the panacea needed to revitalize the NDC, USA chapter in general. The once strong NDC USA chapter has been reduced into two warring factions for four years now.

As fate would have it, the presence of Honorable Asiedu Nketia “General Mosquito”, Secretary General of the NDC; Kofi Attor, Director of International Relations of the NDC; Former Hon deputy minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, Dr. Hannah Bissiw; Former Counsel General Dubai, H.E Daniel Osei and Hon.Sylvester Mensah, Former CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), who were in Washington DC on a national assignment, seized the opportunity to meet with the warring factions with an aim towards a peaceful reconciliation and unity among all NDC members.

“General Mosquito” did not mince words when he asked the warring factions: “What have you gained in fighting each other for the past 4 years?” He urged members of the party in the diaspora and the USA in particular, to form a strong and united front to be able to assist the party back home in Ghana.

“If you think that by rejecting election results within the NDC is how you can help the party, you are lying and deceiving yourselves, because it’s not going to help the party or anybody.

Make sure the larger interest of the party is achieved. Let us hear good news about you because it is always distressing to hear about your quarrels” Hon. Asiedu Nketia admonished members of the NDC in America. He tasked members of the party in the diaspora to identify intellectuals amongst them to help the party.

Mr. Nketia “tickled” the audience to laughter when he referred to President Nana Addo as his uncle; “my uncle’s government did not follow laid down procedures when they sold contaminated oil to a company which was not even registered and has not been granted license by the National Petroleum Company to operate.” “My uncle’s” government again did not follow procedure when they sold 2.2 billion bonds recently. The sales raises serious issues on conflict of interest and insider trading”, Mr. Nketia added.

On national security, every speaker raised concerns about the Delta and Invincible forces and their flagrant disregard of law and order in the country. Mr. Nketia informed the audience that members of both groups were trained by the NPP for war in case the NPP lost the 2016 elections.

Since they won the elections and there was no war, the Delta and Invincible forces started harassing members of the NDC. The NPP, Mr. Nketia recounted, ignored his earlier warning to call on the Delta and Invincible forces to order when they were chasing members of the NDC allegedly to retrieve government vehicles.

Some leading members of the NPP, he alleged, were supporting the “illegal” forces against the NDC. Ironically, the Delta and Invincible forces have turned on members of their own party, Mr. Nketia observed.

On ROPAA, Mr. Nketia said the NDC was not against the implementation of ROPAA. “The NDC wants the right things to be put in place before the elections are held in the diaspora.” He mentioned that the government does not even have the necessary statistical data on the number of Ghanaians in the diaspora to make sure the implementation of the ROPAA would be free and fair.

In his contribution, Honorable Kofi Attor summarized Dr. Kwesi Botchway’s report for the audience and was hopeful that if the recommendations in the report are followed, the NDC would be able to win the general and presidential elections come 2020.

“We urgently need to put on our “thinking caps”; we cannot continue doing the same thing and expect different results. It is unpardonable that the party in power would sit and allow the opposition to feed us with election results and it was possible because the party, seemingly strong, was rather weak with clueless persons given important jobs.

Many don’t know that this Anokye guy from NASA credited with the IT infrastructure of the NPP first approached the NDC. They treated his attempt with disdain, as if power was a birth right”, H.E Daniel Osei, former Counsel General Dubai, also quipped! “We did not run a winning campaign; opulence and money was not enough to win us the elections. Currently we are divided into two camps, those for JM and those who want a new face”, H.E Daniel Osei added.

The main speaker of the event, former CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Hon. Sylvester Mensah, confirmed to the audience that though he is not in Virginia to campaign, he was assuring all that he would run as flag-bearer of the party. “In the previous two occasions it was alleged that I was running, the appetite was not there.

Today, I assure you that the appetite is very high. I will be running for the flagbearership of our party when nominations open.” Sylvester Mensah boldly declared! He touted many experiences that had prepared him for the position. Those who consulted him included the United Nations and the opposition NPP on matters related to the improvement of the National Health Insurance scheme in Ghana and other countries.

Hon. Mensah touted his experience and expertise in finance, economics, banking and risk analysis. He obtained an MBA in Finance from the University of Leicester and a certificate in Political Economy from Cottbus Political College in Germany. Under his leadership, he claimed, the NHIA won a United Nations Award for excellence in leadership for health insurance.

He won an award from the IMANI Center for Policy and Education for inspirational public sector leadership. His core contributions at the NHIS include establishing the Consolidated Claims Processing Centre (CPC), granting “permanency” to the NHIA through the construction of national and regional office complexes, thereby reducing expenditure and streamlining the NHIA Act.

His claim to fame as regional secretary for the National Democratic Congress in the Greater Accra Region includes the introduction of branch auditing within the party, an initiative which was adopted nationwide.

As Member of Parliament, his major areas of focus included education (the La Dadekotopon Education Trust Fund), the reconstruction/rehabilitation of major roads, and the upgrading of the La Polyclinic. To his growing fans in the USA they say he is a winner and READY!

The meeting ended with the Deputy National Youth Organizer of the NDC, Kwabena Barlon rallying the audience to their feet with “Eye ZU , Eye Za…..”, NDC wor ya wor ya eeee and other NDC patriotic hymns.