Opinions of Monday, 14 July 2014

Columnist: Chief Obosu Mohammed

Alan Kyerematen’s proposal ambitious but doable and sustainable

I read elsewhere that, no mountain is too high to climb, and that what the brain conceives, and the heart believes in, it can be achieved. Also, in other to measure a man whether he shall be successful or not, one ought to look at what he has achieved, what he is achieving and what he intends to achieve.

Though the constitution of our party is somehow silent on the specific responsibilities and duties of the flag bearer, it is normally accepted by consensus and general practice that she/he is the de-facto leader of the party.

As such, all those who seek to lead the party must first of all pass the litmus test of delivering a workable and achievable plan on how to strengthen the structures of the party in other to make it formidable going forward.

Transformational leadership is about creativity, innovation and inspiring people to believe in themselves, and it demands that, a leader must have a vision for both his party and country.

Alan Kyerematen has once again led the charge and demonstrated that he is for both his party and country, with the belief that, it is the party that delivers the candidate and not the other way round. In as much as the strengthening of the party is crucial, it is equally essential to have a strong and winnable candidate to make the job of securing political power complete.

He has proposed to give all constituency and regional executives who are willing to work full time for the party a monthly salary to cater for their upkeep. It is important to note that, when one keeps double jobs, there is a likelihood that one will suffer, especially the one which is been done voluntarily.

We cannot operate our party in hibernation and expect different results, its base needs to function as it should be and therefore, must have permanent and dedicated executives to be at post and operate full time with all the needed logistics and resources at their disposal.

Whiles others are making an industry of propaganda out of this initiative without first of all appreciating how this laudable proposal is going to be rolled-out, Alan Kyerematen has kept his eyes on the ball by further demonstrating the source of funding, for this is creativity and a novelty.

Getting funds to pay workers and resourcing activities of the party on a long-term basis is not a rocket-science. The NPP can boast of about 5million membership both home and abroad. Alan Kyerematen with the support of the party intends to develop an efficient database system that will ensure that each member is captured and also gets a party ID card and pay at least GHC1.00 each month.

This monthly contribution will translate into GHC5million each month and GHC60million per year. Let us even assume that the target is GHC2million on a monthly basis, a lot of enterprises can be created with this fund to sustain the party and pay the salaries of its dedicated workers.

Though the program sounds ambitious, it is doable and sustainable. It is all about EFFICIENCY and EXECUTION. Alan Kyerematen has a track record of creating enterprises and wealth for organizations and individuals through his initiatives such as EMPRETEC and Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI) among others. His credibility in ensuring a smooth implementation of such a program can never be in doubt.

In 2006, Alan Kyerematen executed the constituency venture program, which provided some support in the running of the constituencies. For instance in Manhyia, he gave the constituency a Bus that operated and generated some revenue to manage the party office and other activities.

So for instance, if he re-introduces this program, are we saying we cannot cater for the Youth Organizers, Women Organizers, Organizers and Secretaries, many of which are doing full time politics though under resourced?

Also, in calling for new ideas and the transformation of our economy, we cannot ignore the urgency in transforming our party and positioning it as a well-oiled electoral machine. Our traditional methods of funding the party must not continue to linger on as a matter of policy. The party must have the capacity and ability to create and generate its own wealth without necessarily depending on individuals, which may sometimes become dangerous to the health of the party.

The supremacy of our party must be firmly established and not substituted to individuals who either regularly or occasionally finance some party activities. The party members across the poles of the globe must feel a sense of ownership of the party and not some rich few who may take the party hostage as a result of their benevolence to the party.

Even a socialist party like the NDC is being creative by biometrically registering all its membership. With a proper database of party membership, a lot can be done and achieved. It doesn’t matter whether the party is in government or opposition.

Ghanaians must believe in us, we must also be credible in their eyes and present ourselves as a better alternative by executing new creative ideas that will help shape our party and to a larger extent, our nation Ghana. It is appropriate and necessary that the demand for change and transformation begins from home.

There is nothing wrong in dreaming and acting big. The NDC said, we could not put all Ghanaians under a health scheme, yet we did it with the NHIS.

They said we could not provide Free Maternal Healthcare, and yet we delivered. Free school feeding, we made it happen and I believe the next NPP government, God-willing, will see to a successful implementation of the Free SHS.

The New Patriotic Party must continue to dream big and believe in the realization of those dreams, which is our trademark. We make dreams possible even when it seems impossible.

This proposal by Alan Kyerematen is feasible, doable, sustainable and the way forward for our party and I urge the delegates and members of our party to embrace this opportunity of real change by electing him as our next Presidential candidate.

Alan Kyerematen, the transformational leader backed by action is ready to lead the transformational agenda and deliver victory for our party in 2016.

Alan will deliver!

Chief Obosu Mohammed

NPP Member, Mfantseman