... As Filing Fee Rockets from ¢500
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is raising the stakes for its numerous presidential aspirants, as it goes for ¢650 million as filing fee. Daily Guide newspaper has been reliably informed that the Finance Committee of the party has suggested that each aspirant should be made to cough up ¢650 million in order to raise money for the party’s war chest.
According to the Committee, chaired by Collins Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, the aspirants should be made to fund part of the party’s campaign for the 2008 elections.
With about 20 aspirants lining up to take over from President John Agyekum Kufuor, the NPP is expected to rake in some ¢13 billion before the congress scheduled for December at the campus of the University of Ghana, Legon.
“The Finance Committee, very mindful of this great responsibility, has decided to use this family competition to raise funds to meet the attendant expenditures associated with a congress of this nature,” the committee stated in a memo to the National Chairman, Peter Mac Manu, chanced upon by newsmen.
It is not clear however, whether the proposal would be accepted, in the face of a similar suggestion by a leading member of the party, Akenten Appiah Menkah, which was met with open criticism.
Mr. Appiah Menkah had suggested that presidential hopefuls of the party should be made to pay ¢500 million as filing fees.
Some party members took him on, saying that the outrageous amount would allow moneybags to hijack the party. The NPP, they argued was not for the highest bidder.
Earlier indications from the party headquarters after Mr Appiah Menkah’s suggestion indicated that aspirants would not pay more than ¢200 million.
Attempts to seek the opinion of the party chairman, Mr. Mac Manu on the new proposal were unsuccessful as he was said to be held up in a series of meetings.
According to the Finance Committee, if the proposal was adopted, it would provide immediate cash for the party’s operations, especially in the run-up to the December congress.
These proposals if adopted, would not only provide the necessary and immediate resources for the party, but also present the party to both members and the general electorate as one whose financing is broad-based, involving all members of the party from polling station, constituency, regional and the national levels,” the memo said.
Unlike on previous occasions where aspirants were made to bear the cost of their participation in the congress, this time around, the filing fee has been spread out with supporters of each aspirant picking part of the bill. The breakdown of the fee shows that application form is pegged at ¢20 million, with the actual filing fee for prospective candidate fixed at ¢200 million.
The presidential hopeful must, according to the Finance Committee, be nominated by a card-bearing member from each of the 10 regions of the country at the cost of ¢20 million each, bringing the regional support to ¢200 million for each aspirant.
Additionally, each aspirant must be seconded in each of the 230 constituencies at a fee of ¢1 million each. This puts the constituency contributions to ¢230 million for each aspirant, bringing the entire figure for each presidential hopeful to ¢650 million.
According to the Finance Committee, the essence of pegging the filing fee at such a level is to ensure that the party elects a candidate with a capability to mobilize enough resources to prosecute the 2008 campaign effectively. It contended that even though a single individual cannot raise the money needed for the campaign, the flagbearer must demonstrate his resourcefulness.
“Enough resources are needed to organize a successful congress and have some reserve resources (sic) to kick-start the 2008 campaign to ensure an eventual victorious and successful election,” the committee pointed out. All nominators, according to the committee, must be members of the party in good standing.
