A group calling itself ‘Team One’ a pro- National Democratic Congress (NDC) based in Tamale has blamed the 2016 disgraceful defeat of the party to a yawning gap between the government at the time and the party’s grassroots.

It observed that though government played its part by ensuring that there were enough projects coupled with the implementation of various policies and programmes, a disconnect between it and the party worked against its electoral fortunes.

The group at a press conference in Tamale, therefore, endorsed suggestions for the restructuring of the party where members at the grassroots are given the needed recognition to make it a formidable force to reckon with ahead of future elections.

Read full text of the group below;

We want to put on record that the loss of our party in 2016 elections is not because the government did not deliver to the good people of Ghana but because there was a vast gap between party and government. Our grassroots which have been the heart of our party was never resourced and recognized enough to keep the spirit of the party alive as a socialist party.

Ladies and gentlemen of the press and media, the record set by the NDC government shall remain unprecedented in the political history of Ghana but if we as a party are not able to restructure our party where the grassroots man is given due recognition, where the youth wings are empowered, then any dream of political power shall only be a desert mirage in all these predicaments. We must be careful not to engage in any divisive public and media engagements which others have done already by throwing needless blame games on others. We are all at fault and this is the time to be reborn.

John F.K Kennedy postulated “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future”. This is what we must hold in high esteem.

We caution party big wings who think they can make decisive pronouncements on the media to solve our problems. The future of the party belongs to we the youth and we will not support anybody to collapse the party by actions and inactions of theirs that are parochially motivated. In a critical decision, we admonish that the party should consider placing the grassroots in a very strategic position to contribute positively to the electoral prospects of the part.

The issue of who becomes the leader of our party is needless and premature and we again plead that party members should not create room for certain media cabal to score political points to our disadvantage. To us, we have more competent and credible people in the party and working in unison is what is more important at the critical moment in opposition. We want to reassure the rank and file of the party that we the members of team one NDC youth group based in Tamale is ready to sacrifice for the party to ensure a come back to power in 2020 and we encourage our colleagues to do the same.

The signs are very clear that the NPP is struggling and demonstrating hypocrisy and incompetence almost daily and well meaning Ghanaians are fast regretting for given them the mandate. The six months of the NPP government in power is a hell to many Ghanaians. We are been greeted with wanton lawlessness, violence, lies, deceits and populist inferior tactics, abuse of office, gargantuan cover ups of dirty oil in the market by BOST. No wonder the vice president Dr Bawumia disgraced himself in his account dubbed achievement of government within its hundred days in office where every intention and budgetary allocation is considered as an achievement. An issue we have considered as the most political comedy in recent history. That is the mark of an incompetent government which appears to still be in a campaign mood. We are faced with high transport fares, increase in prices of commodities, violence across the length and breadth of the country, and sacking of public officials.

We are calling on every single member of the party to continue to monitor and expose the hypocrisy of this substandard government.

It is our prayer and hope that this wake-up call will be given the necessary attention and pave the way for our victory come December 2020.

We thank you for your audience.

Signed by.

Issah Abdul Kudus Digabra

(Deputy Secretary)

Secretary.

Issaka Sadiq

Chairman

Alhaji Macca Naa