The Member of Parliament for Ellembelle Constituency in the Western Region, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, has declared that the future of Ghana is clearly tied to the prospects of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

"The future of this country is tied to the NDC," he declared.

He made the declaration over the weekend at an opening session of a two-day Quadrennial Youth Conference organised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Takoradi in the Western Region.

According to him, the policies and programmes of the NDC administration since its inception have always been tailored towards development and improvement of the lives of Ghanaians.

"You knew the shape of the economy when we took over. We were completely engulfed with debt. In fact, at some point, if you were not careful, you would run away because of the challenges.

The mess was serious. The environmental degradation and sustainability were completely a mess. Today, just about a year and a half ago, I can stand here and tell you that we have reclaimed all our forest reserve.

“Nobody is in the forest reserve destroying it. I can tell you, and you know the numbers, the economy is on the right path. We are finally restoring hope. Just in the last cabinet, we are coming to infuse almost half a billion in education again, in schools, and rebuilding. We are infusing capital to bring back healthcare. This is the NDC, in just a year and a half, at a time when all we are trying to do is get out of the hole.

“Even within this period, we have still created so many jobs. Even my ministry that doesn't create jobs. I've created over 2,000 blue water jobs. "It was a period of sacrifice.” But I can tell you something: the next budget will be a budget of empowerment of our young people and our youth. That is where we are going. So, the future of this country is really tied to the NDC, and you are the engine of the NDC. The future is so bright,” he said

The veteran lawmaker, who is currently serving his fifth term in Parliament on the ticket of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), made the declaration over the weekend at an Annual Regional Youth Conference organised by the party in Western Region.

According to the Minister, among the reasons why the NDC remains the country's best bet in good governance is because of prudent management of the economy.

He said the government of President John Dramani Mahama took over the reins of governance at a difficult time when the national kitty had been seriously depleted following the mess caused by the previous administration.

Undaunted by the overwhelming challenges, the new administration, he said, immediately had to deploy prudent economic measures to stabilise the situation, hence the current stability of the country's economy.

These prudent measures introduced by government to address the mess caused by the previous administration, he underscored, have since sent shock waves across the globe and officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could not even believe how that could have happened.

Consequently, he said President John Dramani Mahama has provided respite, predictability and certainty in the management of the Ghanaian economy.

The MP, who is also Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, also described the youth of the NDC as the primary focus and focal point of the party, considering the significant work done and contributions being made by the wing to keep the party active, proactive and productive in both opposition and in government.

"You are the engine of NDC," he remarked.

The former Deputy Minority leader motivated the youth with an inspirational background information regarding his political journey.

According to him, many were doubting Thomases when he initially declared his intention to contest and unseat the former Member of Parliament for Ellembelle Constituency, Freddy Blay.

A political heavyweight who had garnered all the wits and kits of networks in politics and served as first and second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, aside from being a three-term lawmaker.

In the heat of his ambition, he said only hard work and perseverance motivated him, and in the end, he conquered the opponent and shockingly delivered the Ellembelle seat to the NDC, to the admiration of all.

The turnout of the elections, he explained, became topical and more like the battle of David and Goliath.

Touching on the future, he said, "In our party, one of the things we need to correct is that sometimes working hard politically is very good, but we also must make sure that you are being smart about it. They say God helps those who help themselves. I'm announcing a 100 scholarship for you, the youth front. I don't care what you want to do, whether it's trade, skills, IT, or advancing yourself; we are going to fight to support you to do that, because one of the key things that we must do is to make sure that we put you in a place where there's no excuse. It's only fair that we help you build your capacity, because in the NDC, I know that when you work hard and you have what it takes, you must be promoted. We are not going to wait for the time to come to get your CV and say, "Oh, brother, if you had done it this way it would have helped."

He observed, "The NDC's future is tied to the youth wing, and if we take our eye off the ball on the youth front, as a political party, we will not survive. If people have not checked the data, the last time I checked, over 70% of the voters in Ghana are under 40 years.

He added, “What it means is that the youth front is so critical that we must continue to empower them to be the leaders of our party going forward, and our country as well. We campaigned, and nobody worked harder than you. I met all of you, and I know what you did"

The lawmaker further noted, "You are the reason the NDC is in power. You are the reason President Mahama is President. In fact, you are the reason I'm a minister.”