About First Appointments

With due respect and regard to His Excellency, the President, we the entire rank and file of the NDC USA Zongo caucus hereby add our voice to that of the seasoned journalist, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jnr and some senior members of our executives in expressing their displeasure of the new appointments by the President.

As much as we see wisdom in His Excellency the President’s genuine intention to establish kind of a national unity government, we however feel that, sensitive positions of that nature, especially that of Chief of Staff should have gone to one of the thoroughbreds or true senior members of the party, such as Alhaji Hudu Yahaya, Mr. Ibrahim Adam, Dr. Ecow Spio Gabrah, Mr. P.V. Obeng or Mr. Totobi Kwakye -whose high level of experience and contributions is well known to the rank and file of our great party.

Since the media announcement of the first list of appointments yesterday, several members and even non-members of the NDC in Ghana and the USA, have been pelting our executive members in the USA diaspora with series of phone calls, expressing their dissatisfactions about some of these strange names. Some even took it over the social media to vent their spleen against those names. We know the President has discretional power to appoint any competent and capable Ghanaian, regardless of his political affiliation. However, we kindly appeal and plead to His Excellency not to lose sight of his own kith and kin, who have sacrificed for the survival and sustenance of the party, even in opposition over the years and have helped in diverse ways in our campaign towards victory.

Most of the party members who called us to express their concerns lamented that, the President should beware of repeating some of the past mistakes committed by the late President in appointing certain people considered as ‘aliens’ in the party to some key positions, which was one of the factors that created rift between him and many senior members of the party. They stated that, the position of Chief of Staff, especially -which is the easiest route for the true party members to get access to the presidency must go to a party guru, not an appointee who is not familiar to the members of the party.

We therefore plead to His Excellency the President, who is a true father and good listener to consider the plea of our members and ‘reshuffle’ the new Chief of Staff in particular and appoint one of the personalities mentioned above, who are tried and tested senior members of the party, and to kindly consider party members first in any principal position, before members of other political parties.

We think that, if true party executives are appointed for those influential positions, the rank and file of our party members would be satisfied and continue to fight hard for the party, come the next elections in 2012.

Signed:

Husseini Y. Baba AlWaiz, Publicity Secretary, NDC USA Zongo Caucus & Press Secretary NDC NY