Council of State member takes NDC Aldershot patron role, urges diaspora to bring investment

Pinned summary · as of 05:30

Gabriel Tanko Kwamigah-Atokple, who sits on the Council of State, is now patron of the NDC's Aldershot branch in the UK and Ireland chapter. At the branch's second anniversary fundraiser on 28 September, he asked members to turn their skills and contacts in Britain into investment and jobs at home.

What we know

• Council of State member Kwamigah-Atokple was named patron of the Aldershot branch, and he said he took the position in good faith, mindful of the duties and hopes that come with it.
• He encouraged branch members to draw on their careers, business networks and links within Britain's Ghanaian community to help bring investment and employment to Ghana.
• He asked the chapter to make attracting investors part of what it offers Ghana, in line with the Reset Agenda and 24-Hour Economy policy of President John Dramani Mahama, and to find credible opportunities and set up meetings with would-be investors.
• The branch, which Kwamigah-Atokple said Mahama inaugurated, is using its anniversary to raise funds for clean water and other social projects at home. He said safe water remains hard to get in some communities.
• Kwamigah-Atokple contributed a donation in US dollars to the fundraiser and said he intends to travel to meet the chapter's leaders and members within the next few months.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  MyJoyOnline put the donation at $5,000, earmarked for the branch's water project, while The Publisher Online said the sum was not disclosed. The amount has therefore not been settled.
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  MyJoyOnline reported that Kwamigah-Atokple said the diaspora should look beyond remittances and party activity towards practical support for growth and jobs, and that he reaffirmed his loyalty to the NDC. The Publisher Online did not carry these remarks.

Why it matters for Ghana

Some communities in Ghana still struggle to get clean drinking water, so money raised abroad for water projects could reach households there if the plans go ahead. The call for the diaspora to link investors with Ghanaian businesses ties into the government's job-creation policies, although no specific investment or project was named. Residents will only see results if the fundraising and any investor contacts turn into concrete projects.