Accra, Sept. 21, GNA - Mr Gabriel Pwamang, General Secretary of People's National Convention (PNC) on Thursday said the task of Nkrumahist parties was to build a solid vanguard to meet the needs of Ghanaians.

He said "We need to reconstruct the vanguard that would lead to the attainment of Nkrumah's ideals. We should build a party that would provide food, clothing and shelter for Ghanaians.=94 Mr Pwamang was speaking at a forum organized by the Convention People's Party (CPP) to mark the 97th anniversary of Ghana's First President Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah's birthday in Accra. The forum under the theme " Nkrumah: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" threw the searchlight on Dr Nkrumah's African Philosophy, Consciencism and Personality.

It explored the relevance of Nkrumah's ideals during the independence struggle and post independence activities of the CPP, and imperialist tactics that impeded on Ghanaian and African development. Mr Pwamang noted that any discussion about Nkrumah went beyond the boundaries of Ghana, and the CPP had a duty to replicate a political party to liberate all oppressed people in Ghana, Africa and the world. He extolled Dr Nkrumah's role in the attainment of political independence in some African countries, adding 93CPP currently faces a similar task of providing a vanguard to protect the physical development of Ghana.=94

Dr Raymond Osei, CPP's Director of Education said the people's welfare was supreme in Nkrumah's human ideology, placed the human being at the centre and African unity and integration of its markets at the core of development.

Dr Gamel Nasser, a Lecturer at the University of Ghana, raised doubts about development partners, saying they hid their real imperialist nature under the guise of providing assistance. He questioned why Ghana was labelled a Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC), and called on the nation to put her destiny in her own hands rather than relying on foreign assistance for development. Dr Edmund Delle, National Chairman of CPP, said it was necessary to soberly reflect on the prevailing issues in international politics for which Dr Nkrumah stood for. He said "After all it is by his vision that our land was first liberated, and nobody can take that from him.=94