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Politics of Monday, 24 June 2013

Source: Samia Nkrumah

Statement: CPP has best internal party transparency

"Members of the Party must be the first to set an example of all the highest qualities in the nation. We must excel in our field of work by working really hard. We must produce unimpeachable evidence of integrity, honesty, selflessness and faithfulness in the positions in which we are placed by the Party in service of the nation. We must abandon ridiculous ostentation and vanity when the Party has charged us with eminent positions of state, and remember constantly that we hold offices not in our own right, but in the right of the total membership of the Convention People's Party, the masses of the people who really matter." ... Kwame Nkrumah

These are some of the values that guide the members and leaders of the Convention People's Party and thus at the beginning of this administration we were determined to ensure that these guiding principles are restored at the heart of all that we do.

They are also some of the principles that will guide the CPP when we come to government, in dealing with failures in governance such as misappropriation of funds in public institutions and judgment debts.

The CPP's ongoing reforms are part and parcel of a commitment we made after the 2012 elections to restructure, rebrand and rejuvenate the Party. Invariably, this has involved a review of election performance, including campaign strategy, finances, administration and structures.

It is in furtherance of these goals that the elected leaders of the CPP backed by Central Committee initiated the creation of a Fact-Finding Committee specifically to look at all the issues around resource mobilization and allocation during the 2012 election campaign, especially after a hectic campaign season where many of our leaders where themselves candidates.

I take this opportunity on behalf of the leadership and the entire Party to commend the efforts of the members of the Fact-finding Committee for their dedication in carrying out this exercise on behalf of the Party. We welcome the recommendations of the fact-finding committee and we are committed to implement them to further entrench transparency and accountability to our members in particular and Ghanaians in general.

It is most disconcerting however that an exercise in establishing truth which is the best example of internal Party transparency has been misrepresented by the front page article of the Daily Graphic of 20th June 2013 alleging that the fact-finding committee has indicted leading members of the CPP for failing to account for election funds.

As Chairman and Leader of the Party I see this as another attempt to discredit the CPP and foment discord within our midst. I want to assure our membership that we are determined to push ahead with the reforms in our operations.

We have written to the Daily Graphic and I will be seeking a meeting with the Editor and the Management of the Daily Graphic to make our views known and discuss with them how they meet their constitutional duties without distorting facts.

Given the mood of our country and the disenchantment with politics and politicians, it is clear that what the CPP is doing internally is a constructive path that will offer the country a credible alternative and earn us the trust of Ghanaians.

Samia Yaba Nkrumah

Chairman and Leader

Convention People's Party