Former CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Sylvester Adinam Mensah, has expressed shock at suggestions that the party has become cash-strapped weeks after it lost the 2016 elections.

According to him, the party had enough funds to run its affairs for two years minimum after its first electoral defeat in the year 2,000, wondering what may have happened to party’s funds to compel executives to peg nomination and filing forms “at such an unethically high level."

"When the NDC lost the 2000 elections, there was money to run affairs of the party for at least two years. I was there and saw what happened, but the same cannot be said about 2016. It is very strange to learn that few weeks after the 2016 defeat, the party was broke,” Mr. Mensah said Saturday, December 8, when he met branch and constituency executives at Kpassa and Nkwanta respectively, in the Volta Region.

"I can assure you that under my leadership, the NDC will see a fund operational enough to sustain all activities of the party from branch to the national level. I promise to bring my expertise in fund management to bear on this so as to support the party", Mr Mensah stated.

The National Executive Committee of the NDC announced that persons seeking to contest the flagbearership post would have to pay GHS20,000 and GHS400,000 as nomination and filing fees, respectively. 

Following the heavy criticisms and a joint petition from eight of the aspirants including Mr. Mensah, the party's Council of Elders reviewed the fees by some GHS100,000.

Read: 8 NDC flagbearer aspirants boycott filing process over “unreasonable” fees

L-R (top): Sylvester Mensah, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Alban Bagbin and Goosie Tanoh; L-R (down): Elikplim Agbemava, Kojo Bonsu, Stephen Atubiga and Nurudeen Iddrisu

The deadline for picking nomination forms was also extended while the scheduled date for the primaries has also been moved from January 19 to 26, 2019, among several other decisions.

Even though there was a response from the Council, petitioners are still pushing for a further review and two of the aspirants- Elikplim Agbemava and Kojo Bonsu- have pulled out from the race.

Mr Mensah opined that the NDC has come a long way and must begin to adopt innovative ways of raising funds for party activities, including payment of dues. 

"Party members must own the party. They must know that without their contributions the party cannot survive. We must give power back to our people and that is exactly what I will do when you give me the nod," he stressed

Party executives praised Mr Mensah for coming to their Constituencies to meet with them. Besides that, they have commended Mr Mensah for running a clean campaign devoid of personal attacks and have promised to vote for him.

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