Afriyie-Ankrah challenges students in Ghana to have a globally competitive mindset

The Director of Elections of the National Democratic Congress, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah has challenged students in Ghana to have a globally competitive mindset.

According to him, the sooner they realise the world is a global one, the better it will be for them to have a mindset of building themselves to be able to compete globally.

Addressing TEIN members of the Kumasi Techincal University during an orientation session for fresh students, Mr Afriyie-Ankrah, mesmerized them with some thought-provoking exhortations.

Although the meeting was a purely political one, the experienced grass-root organizer took everyone by surprise when he decided to take his presentation a notch higher to inspire the participants.

He advised them to balance their political lives on campus with hard work academically to achieve their primary aim of enrolment and urged them to aim beyond the first degree and prepare themselves for higher academic qualifications to be internationally competitive.

As far as he was concerned, the days when TEIN members used to dream that they would wait for their party to come to power to ‘get something to do’ was over and encouraged the students to strive to be the best version of themselves and have a paradigm shift that focuses on building their capacities in readiness to take any opportunities that come their way in future.

The above notwithstanding the Director of Elections also gave the youngsters hope that they were better off working hard for NDC to wrestle and maintain power. Tracing the antecedents of the NDC, he stressed that NDC gives opportunities to young people, citing the examples of former President Rawlings who gave opportunities to the likes of young Totobi Quarkye through Professor Mills who appointed the Ablakwas to President Mahama who appointed the Ofosu-Kwakyes.

He also mentioned their Communications Director, Sammy Gyamfi and their current youth organizer as examples of those to who NDC had given opportunities and predicted that some of the students in the audience might be future leaders in the party or an NDC government.

Mr Afriyie-Ankrah also recalled how he and the likes of Minority Leader, Haruna Iddissu, Baba Jamal and Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa were student leaders in various capacities.

In recounting his University days, he added that they competed favourably with the puffed-up NPP supporters in their days hence the current crop of TEIN members must believe in themselves and refuse to be intimidated by others, especially their loud NPP counterparts.

“When the opportunity arises to debate the NPP members on or outside campus, you must confidently stand toe to toe with them because sector by sector, NDC’s performance is superior and remarkable,” he observed.

He also added with far fewer resources at his disposal, past NDC governments embarked on a massive infrastructure development that tremendously opened up the economy.

“The funds we set up including District Assembly Common Fund, GET Fund, Sinking Fund, ESLA, Heritage were visionary and expected to cushion the country in trying times but this government has dissipated all of them through reckless collateralisation and profligacy.”

Mr Afriyie-Ankrah who was also a former Minister of Youth and Sports in the Mahama Administration assured his audience that a future NDC government will bring Ghana’s economy back on a sound footing.