For that reason, Dr Duffuor said he would tackle the issues of women and youth empowerment within the party and the nation as a whole.

Dr Duffuor said this during his campaign tour of the Tema East, Tema Central, Tema West, Krowor and Ledzokuku constituencies in the Greater Accra Region to canvass for the vote of the delegates in the party’s May 13 presidential primary.

The NDC flag bearer hopeful received a rousing welcome from teeming supporters of the party in all the constituencies he and his campaign team visited to win the hearts and minds of the delegates.

Dr Duffuor stated that from a cultural perspective, women were the backbone of the family and the nation at large.

He, therefore, said with his “Ahotor Project”, he would make resources available to enterprising women and youth of the party, to create jobs for themselves and others.

He also reiterated that ailing and mismanaged state enterprises like the Tema Oil Refinery would be revived to provide job opportunities to the country’s unemployed, especially the youth who have had no employment avenues for long periods after graduation.

Schemes for old people

Dr Duffuor lamented the plight of old Cadres of the NDC party and how they had fallen on hard times after years of service to the party.

He, therefore, vowed to establish a Pension Fund that would serve as a cushion for party workers after they retire.

Heroes fund

In a similar vein, Dr Duffuor also pledged to resuscitate the NDC Heroes Fund established under former President, John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, to assist supporters and loyalists of the NDC who have encountered misfortunes, incapacitation or other forms of deprivations in the course of their service to the party.

The setting up of the fund followed efforts put into the 2008 general election by the party grassroots, leading to the recapturing of power from the NPP, with many party faithfuls putting themselves in harm's way.

Therefore, in order to sustain the enthusiasm of the youth and the base of the party, the NDC came up with an insurance policy called the Heroes Fund  to compensate those who go the extra mile for the party, an idea that was popularly received by the party’s rank and file.