The Right NPP Couple For The Castle

The aftermath of President Kufour’s directives to Ministers wishing to contest the NPP flagberearship to resign has sadly confirmed fears of a perceived strained relationship between the government and the Party.

The reaction by the NPP General Secretary and the Greater Accra Regional Women’s Organiser after the President’s directives show the extent of the unhealthy relationship between the government and the Party. There is a valid reason why the President should have consulted the National Executives prior to such directives (though information indicated that the President had met the National Executive before) but for me, it is the Ministers who are to carry the blame for all this mess. For if some had listened to the advise given by Hon.J.H.Mensah at the Party’s National Conference at Koforidua and the recent candid advise by the Party’s elder statesman Mr Appiah Menkah with his inclination to publish the five names who among them one is likely to get the Delegates nod come December, there wouldn’t have been many personalities wishing to contest.

Seriously the attitude of the personalities vying for the NPP leadership position has caused the blood temperature of some sympathisers to go high. There are many people who are wondering what might be the actual reasons behind these many personalities wanting to contest the NPP presidential race; their action is truly inexplicable.

Truly this attitude of every Tom, Dick and Harry wanting to be Party leader and subsequently Presidential candidate is frightening and it is time for the truth to be said. It is clear that some of these men have not thoroughly examined their suitability for the highest office of President. The argument that the NPP by tradition has always gotten many aspirants to its presidential race is hollow and any scientific evidence does not support it. When in opposition what is permissible should never be wholly encouraged whilst in government. The argument put forward by supporters for this multitude of candidates that, their campaigns throughout the countryside are really rejuvenating the Party at the grassroot is neither here nor there. If as a National or Constituency Executive you depend on others to rekindle the structure of your area then you have got your calculations wrong.

One by-product of this whole leadership saga, which may be an advantage, is the fact that the deteriorating relationship between the Party and government is now in the open. This single development has convinced many party members that the time is now ripe for an indigenous party official to be in the Castle. The argument is based on the premise that whereas the President may be for the whole country (some say like Mr. Kufour did) his VICE should be an indigenous Party official who knows how to galvanise the grassroots of the Party and simultaneously assist the President in the administration of the Nation.
There are some who argue that Government should be separated from the Party and there are justifications for that argument. For National activities must be de-coupled from Party ones but because it is out of a political party that a government is born, the relationship need to properly manage to get a good balance.

Those who are complaining that the government has seriously distanced itself from the Party activists are basing their frustrations on the total disregard shown by some DCEs, MPs, and Ministers etc. Many of these political officials even fail to attend party meetings; fail to interact with party activists and executives, fail to open a channel of communicating with party members whose effort catapulted the Party into power.

In fact, party executives in the constituencies sometimes only get to know that ministers or government officials are visiting /have visited their town through the media. Some of these government officials claim that they are representing the Nation and therefore Party matters are secondary. This situation does not help the development of those at the grassroots and the best way forward is to take a more caring approach. Also, there are some party gurus who may rubbish the party foot soldiers as being disillusioned for nothing but as the great Confucious stressed ‘’he who learns but does not think is lost, he who thinks but does not learn is in great danger’’. Regrettably we are in the 21st century but some politicians are doing 19th century politics and for sure some will pay the price for their tinkering.

It seems that some Government Ministers, MPs, DCEs are completely ignorant as to how to forge ‘a strong balance between party loyalists and National needs’. . Last week Mr. Felix Nyarko Antwi, Mfantseman West Constituency Vice Chairman of the NPP summed it up by pleading with all concerned to take care of the foot soldiers. Getting the best out of the Party activists should be right at the top of both government and National Executives to-do list. No one should be fooled into thinking that the Party has not been disconnected from its activists.

I must repeat that the fallout from the President’s directives to aspiring Ministers for the NPP Presidential race to resign and concentrate on their campaign is a blessing in disguise for it has confirmed the urgent need for the Party to listen to the voice of the party masses, for the voice of the people is said to be the voice of God. It is evident also that the overwhelming majority of the party activists clamour for the Delegates of the December Congress to elect a National President cum his die-hard party wo/man as Vice President, this permutation many believe is non-negotiable.

The feeling on the ground indicate that many Party loyalists are asking for the Running- Mate of the leading aspirants to be made public before the Congress; this is unprecedented. The paradox for this permutation is very tough, for in the NPP constitution, it is the Party’s Presidential Candidate who in consultation with the National Executive Committee nominate his running mate, and since before the December Congress there wouldn’t be any Presidential Candidate, how can the Vice-Presidential candidate be known? However, there are ample strategies to adopt to assure the foot soldiers the intent. It is also very regrettable that good political thinkers and strategists do not surround some of the aspirants if they did, they would have given them an impartial or realistic assessment of their chances in the December Congress and this would have prevented the ministerial resignation impasse.

It will be disastrous if the leading Presidential aspirants get the permutation wrong by choosing the wrong running mate. If that happens then the door may be left open for the incompatible person to snatch the flagbearership. A strong President and his Vice combined with the efforts of his Ministers will surely give birth to a new Ghana. President Kufour has sown the seed and hopefully the NPP Delegates will elect a candidate who when voters retain the NPP in power in 2008 will take Ghana to the next level.

During the NPP conference at Koforidua earlier this year, there was an allegation that President Kufour instructed Ministers, DCEs, and all party officials to assist party activists within the confines of the law, this allege pronouncement from the President was endlessly attacked by the NDC as if what the President was reported to have said is new in our body politic. The President is absolutely right, if indeed he made that comment, what is the essence of joining a political party if that recognition will not be accorded you? What will be unacceptable is when the door is closed to others with genuine commitment to have a share of the opportunity created.

After all it is the party activists whose handwork and resilience helped push the Party into power and therefore a legal and genuine way of appreciating their efforts is a must. It is increasingly becoming clear even to the most doubting Thomases that there are many disillusioned NPP supporters. Do you think Mr. Koi Larbi’s recent attack on his own Party is a mere coincidence? It is when the party fails to address the concerns of the disgruntled party loyalists and fails to sit at the table to address their concerns that they go public with all kinds of avoidable utterances.

When you talk to Party faithfuls in the constituencies, you notice that, although they look forward to employment and development in their area, what really concerns them at this point in time is the lack of a strong communication link between government officials and the activists. They see this communication gap as a snub on the part of the government, although this writer appreciates the fact that after many years of P/NDC rule, it is taking the NPP government sometime to address all the enormous challenges facing the Nation. Nevertheless, all the necessary conditions should be created so that party activists can discuss things with those at the top. These activists want to have a voice; they want to have a say in the way they are governed. It is time the government and the Party officials found a way of bringing all the party activists on board. The first hurdle though, would be to have a National President and his die-hard (party) Vice President after December, this combination will undeniably galvanise the party activists for the battle ahead.

It is hoped that for once politicians seeking public office will surround themselves with modern political thinkers so as to enable them take strategic decisions. Gladly some are taking the right decision to coil out of the NPP presidential race, names such as Papa Owusu Ankomah and Mr.Felix Owusu Agypong have come up.
Governing a country is simple; the most significant assignment is get the systems right, make state institutions more powerful and all other things will flourish. When the systems are faulty and the party grass roots are ignored, the government is left alone to face the fight from the opposition parties. Sometimes one is quick to have sympathy for disillusioned party activists who take their frustration to the public domain, for one has the feeling that some politicians seems not to be listening.
Finally, the NPP’s success in the 2008 elections will largely depend on the Presidential candidate they choose, and very crucially, his running mate. Whoever ignores this fact before the December Congress may live to regret.

MARTIN KWANING
MITCHAM, SURREY
LONDON, UK