The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Germany branch on Saturday, 22nd September, 2018 held an inaugural and fundraising ceremony for its youth wing. The colourful ceremony, held under the theme: Mobilising and empowering the diasporan youth for election 2020 and beyond was held at the Sonnenallee Event Center in Berlin.

The minister for railway development, Hon. Joe Ghartey chaired the event with the main speaker being the national youth organiser of the NPP, Henry Nana Boakye. With Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, Her Excellency Gina Blay as the Special Guest of Honour, other dignitaries who attended the function were Alhaji Hanan Abdul-Wahab, CEO of Ghana National Buffer Stock Company, Mr. Yaw Osei Bamfo and Kwame Adu-Sarfo, staffers at the Jubilee House, Madam Mary Posh-Oduro, a former NPP women’s organiser and one-time national treasurer aspirant, Mr. Joe Louis Sekyi, a former NPP-Germany youth organiser and currently director of operations at the Youth Employment Authority (YEA), Mr. Freddy King Dodou, director of human relations, YEA and Mr. Jerry Osei-Poku, Eastern regional YEA director and youth organiser.

Branch youth organisers and other executives from the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Belgium, Denmark and Austria and chapter chairpersons of the NPP-Germany branch were all present.

Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as ‘Nana B’, admonished the youth in Germany and the diaspora to make known the unprecedented policies and programs initiated by the Nana Akufo-Addo administration to Ghanaians in Germany. Some of which include, the Free SHS program, the National identification program, planting for food and jobs, one district one factory, the removal of taxes on some good and formalisation of the economy among others.

He mentioned that, these programs were at the core of the Nana Akufo-Addo presidential mandate and were necessary to be implemented. He expressed satisfaction with their successes so far and the content with which Ghanaians have expressed in these policies. He then called for the youth in the diaspora to invest available resources in various sectors of the economy to help develop the country.

At the launch of the first official youth wing of any diaspora branch of the party with a youth executive body, the youth organiser, Emmanuel Oppong Boakye-Yiadom, ‘Prof.’, as he is popularly called urged the youth to instil in them the ideals of the Dombo-Busia-Danquah tradition to develop worthy characters for the development of Ghana. In that light, he called for an increased number of appointments for the youth and members of the NPP-Germany. He also reiterated plans by the wing for a successful implementation of the Representation of the People’s Amendment Act (ROPAA) when the electoral commission approves of its readiness to roll it out for the 2020 election.

‘Prof.’ made a plea to the GETFund and the Scholarship Secretariat to give a limited number of scholarship opportunities to Ghanaian students who struggle to pool resources together to renew their residence permits.

Members present at the event also took turns to ask the dignitaries questions regarding the ambitious vision of a Ghana beyond aid declared by the president. The successes, challenges and the roadmap to achieving it were all discussed. On his part, Hon. Joe Ghartey, a cabinet minister, shed light on the detailed plan to achieve the vision.

He mentioned that, Ghana was on the right track to achieve self-sustenance. He reassured all of the sound policies and programs by the various sectors of the economy and called for the needed support in that regard.

Sixteen (16) youth wing executives, including the youth organiser and his deputy were sworn into office by ‘Nana B’, with the help of the Chairman of the NPP Germany branch, Rev. Alex Acheampong. The group was tasked to ensure the popularity of the party in and outside Germany ahead of the 2020 election.