Vanderpuye pledges welfare system for former NDC executives and party leaders

National Chairman aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has pledged to establish a credible, sustainable and transparent welfare system for former party executives and dedicated leaders who have sacrificed years of their lives to the growth and survival of the party.

According to him, the contribution of former executives and party leaders must not be measured only by the positions they occupied or the number of years they served, but also by the personal sacrifices they made to build the NDC into a formidable political organisation.

Mr Vanderpuye said he was deeply concerned about the condition of some former party executives and leaders who, after devoting their time, resources, energy and personal fortunes to the party, were now struggling to make ends meet.

He said the situation demanded more than expressions of gratitude or occasional recognition at party gatherings, arguing that the NDC had a responsibility to provide practical support and dignity for those who had served the party faithfully.

“When I sit back and reflect on the condition of some of our former party executives and leaders, my heart bleeds,” he said.

“These are people who sacrificed their time, resources, energy and, in some cases, their entire lives to build this party. Sadly, many of them are now struggling to make ends meet.”

The former executives, he noted, represented an important part of the institutional memory of the NDC and deserved to be treated as an integral part of the party even after leaving active positions.

For Vanderpuye, the welfare of the party’s former leaders should therefore become an institutional responsibility rather than something dependent on the goodwill of individual office holders or occasional fundraising efforts.

He said his ambition to become National Chairman was partly driven by the desire to build a party that cared for its own and ensured that those who had made significant sacrifices did not become forgotten once their active political careers came to an end.

At the heart of his proposal is the establishment of a structured welfare system that would operate on principles of credibility, sustainability and transparency.

Such a system, he explained, should provide practical assistance to former executives and dedicated party leaders who had served the NDC faithfully, while creating mechanisms that would ensure that resources meant for their welfare were properly managed and accounted for.

Vanderpuye believes the proposal is also about restoring confidence among the current generation of party activists.

He argued that younger members who dedicate their time and resources to the party should be able to see a future in which their sacrifices would not be forgotten.

For him, the NDC must demonstrate that loyalty and service to the party have value beyond political appointments and electoral victories.

The National Chairman aspirant therefore sees the welfare of former party leaders as part of a broader responsibility to preserve the party’s history, honour its builders and strengthen solidarity among its members.

“Those who built this party must not be abandoned when their active political lives come to an end,” he stressed.

Vanderpuye said his quest for the chairmanship was consequently not driven merely by the desire to occupy a prominent position within the NDC, but by a determination to use the office to address longstanding concerns affecting party members and leaders.

“I want to lead not just to occupy an office, but to restore hope, protect our own and wipe away the tears of those who sacrificed for our party,” he said.

His proposed welfare agenda places the dignity of former party executives at the centre of his campaign, while also presenting the NDC with an opportunity to institutionalise a system of care for the men and women whose contributions helped sustain the party through difficult political periods.

For Vanderpuye, the measure of a political organisation is not only how it celebrates its leaders when they are powerful, but also how it treats them when they are no longer in positions of influence.