Upper East Regional Communication Officer and aspirant for the Jonathan Abdallah Salifu, says he will push for the establishment and upgrading of constituency party offices across the region if given the mandate.
He says several constituencies still lack decent and adequately equipped offices, a situation he believes affects the party’s ability to organise, hold meetings and mobilise members effectively.
“One of the radical things I will do when delegates give me the mandate as Secretary is to ensure we have constituency offices,” Mr Salifu said.
Speaking on A1 Radio, he pointed to the NPP’s constituency office at Bongo as an example of what he believes the NDC can replicate across the region.
“On your way to Bongo, the NPP, led by Peter Ayinbisa, was able to build a party office for the Bongo constituency. And if the NPP can have a constituency like that in Bongo, what prevents us, the NDC, from having similar ones across all the constituencies in the region?” he asked.
Mr Salifu said while a few constituencies have made progress with their office infrastructure, others continue to operate under difficult conditions.
He cited the NDC office at Chiana-Paga, which he said had been constructed with spaces for administration, storage and meetings.
According to him, such facilities are important because party activities, including organisational meetings, often begin from the constituency offices.
“We have not gotten to a stage where we can build. There are only a few places that I’ve been able to build. Like, go to Chiana-Paga, I remember one of the people there built an office for them, and that office was well designed. It has an administration area for the office, it has a storeroom, and it has a meeting area, very big,” he said.
Mr Salifu also recalled that during a visit to the area in 2022, he found furniture to be a challenge and supported the office with plastic chairs.
He argues that beyond securing buildings, the party must ensure constituency offices are properly furnished and equipped to support day-to-day operations.
“We need to equip our constituency offices, but all that we do before we move out to the fields are meetings,” he said.
Mr Salifu said membership mobilisation should remain a priority, but argued that effective mobilisation requires functional spaces where party members can regularly meet and organise.
He proposed equipping constituency offices with basic electronic equipment, including computers, printers and photocopiers, alongside adequate furniture.
“Membership drive should be key, but meetings are important. So we need to equip the offices, furnishing them, getting decent places, equipping them with electronic gadgets, like the computers at least, small printers and copiers and the rest. And that is going to be my hallmark, I mean, that is an area I will strongly look at,” he said.
For Mr Salifu, the issue is ultimately about creating constituency offices where party members and executives can meet and work in decent conditions.
“The people still need to be comfortable,” he added.
Source: Bolgafmonline.com| 102.7 MHz| Bolgatanga
