Deputy General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Foyo Gbande, has urged party supporters to remain patient with the government, saying development requires time, planning and sustained effort.
Speaking at a town hall meeting at Bukom Park in Accra, Mr Gbande acknowledged concerns among some party members over the pace of development and the benefits they expected from the NDC government.
He, however, appealed to supporters not to lose confidence in the administration, stressing that the government cannot address every challenge at once.
“It does not take a day to satisfy everybody, but with patience, we will enjoy,” he said.
Mr Gbande also encouraged party executives and assembly members to strengthen their engagement with communities and ensure that concerns from the grassroots reach the appropriate levels of the party.
He said the party’s internal structures were important channels for identifying problems and working with government to address them.
“It is the duty of the branch executives to listen to the concerns of party members at the branch level and bring those concerns to the constituency. The constituency will then take them to the region, and the region to the national level, so that we can engage government and work together to address our challenges,” he said.
The Deputy General Secretary said the government’s development agenda should be viewed as an ongoing process rather than something that could be completed within a short period.
He further urged party members who feel disappointed by unmet expectations to continue engaging through the NDC’s structures instead of allowing disagreements to weaken the party.
“This is our party. This is our government. We wanted to be in government, and we are in government today,” Mr Gbande said.
He also reminded supporters that political power provides the party with an opportunity to influence policies and address challenges affecting communities.
“Being in power is always better than being in opposition. Whatever problems we have, whatever grievances we may have, and whatever difficulties we face, we must sit together as a family and resolve them,” he said.
Mr Gbande stressed the need for stronger communication between government appointees, party executives and ordinary members, noting that poor communication could create the impression that little was being done even when work was ongoing.
“If you do not work so that we connect together to solve your problems, the people will feel that nothing is being done when, in reality, something is happening,” he said.
