Politics of Friday, 4 March 2005

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We won?t remain in power forever

The Volta regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Kenwood Nuworsu, has reiterated that the party would not remain in power for good.

He has, therefore, cautioned members to be mindful of this fact of nature in all their actions and utterances, so that whether in government or in opposition, they would be able to stand the test of the time.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen in his office on Wednesday about the party's forthcoming emergency mini-congress, slated for this month to consider some proposed amendments to its constitution, Nuworsu said the primaries held in the various constituencies prior to the last parliamentary elections were fraught with several allegations of bribery and other immoral practices.

He said even though none of those allegations had been proven, he believed that there could be an iota of truth in widespread complaints such as those lodged before the elections.

The regional chairman admitted that one of the most important issues to be discussed at the mini-congress was the proposal that calls for a broadening of the electoral colleges from the polling station level upwards as a means of minimizing corruption, but opined that merely widening the college may not achieve the desired results.

"If the essence of that proposal is to check bribery, then it may still not work to perfection because no matter how large the number of delegates we agree on, the highest bidder still carries the day, and those at the lower end of the financial ladder would be completely out," he stressed.

Nuworsu contended that when the college is too large, the various arms of the party at the regional and constituency levels would find it difficult to manage, and called for a more workable system so that whether in government or opposition organization would be easier.

Asked to explain why the NPP-led government still enjoyed the goodwill and cooperation of the board, majority of Ghanaians, even in the face of its harsh economic policies such as the recent hike in fuel prices and the numerous taxes, he retorted: "Because we are running a transparent government, people are ready to make extra sacrifices for a better future of this country. It's when there is a perception of mismanagement that they will not heed to any call for greater sacrifice."

According to him, government had all along treaded cautiously because it had metamorphorsed out of opposition, arguing that had the government taken advantage of its incumbency status in the last elections, the results would have been far different and the critics would have seen that difference.