Kwesi Biney Tasks NPP Executives

Kwesi Biney, former Western Regional First Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has tasked members of the party holding various executive positions to involve the grassroots of the party in their preparations towards election 2016.

According to him, there is empirical evidence that the NPP was incapable of winning elections through its members and supporters alone.

“We need the votes of other party people including our major opponent, the National Democratic Congress (NDC),' he said.

He noted that the NPP is structured in a manner that it has elected officers among the grassroots who have the responsibility of canvassing grassroots support.

“The question is, at their various levels how have the elected officers from among the grassroots themselves been able to canvass the people to effectively participate in elections,” he inquired.

Kwesi Biney, who is also a former District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ahanta West, was speaking at the 2 nd constituency annual delegates' conference of the Effia constituency branch of the NPP in the Western Region.

It was on the theme 'Canvassing for grassroots participation towards election 2016″.

He indicated that no political party could function effectively and achieve its goals without logistics.

He stated, however, that the wisdom in the proponents of the polling station concept was to ensure that the officers so elected dealt directly with voters living within the same polling stations.

'Having travelled through the nook and cranny of the region, I can boldly state that there are just few polling stations which have more than one community with long travelling distances.

'Even though logistics like motor bikes and bicycles are necessary for political organisation, are these logistics required before active canvassing and mobilisation within the polling stations are done?' he quizzed.

He stated, “Party officers at the various levels of the party are not the grassroots. The grassroots are the target population in the rural areas who are predominantly farmers and fisher folks.”

Mr Biney revealed that many concerned middle-class Ghanaians had always advised the NPP to carry their message to the rural people because in their view that was where the problem was.

'We can only attract the attention of the people in our polling stations and communities largely if we discuss issues which directly affect the lives of the people at the grassroots. General issues would be there alright but the focus should be on those that have direct effect on their lives at the grassroots,' he added.

Mr Biney therefore called on all the polling station executives of the party in the region to have positive attitudes towards the electorate at the grassroots, particularly those perceived to belong to other political parties.

Ganiyu Mohammed, Regional Organiser of the NPP, regretted that the party which used to have about 14 out of the 26 parliamentary seats in the region now had a paltry eight.

He said, however, that there was hope to recapture the lost seats in the 2016 elections and stressed that there was therefore the need to fight as a united party to win the next general elections.

Asiedu Kokro, Regional Coordinator of the Young Patriots, encouraged the party members in the Effia constituency to continue to organise periodic clean-up exercises, health walks and other outreach programmes to educate the electorate on the party's policies.

The Member of Parliament for Effia, Joseph Cudjoe, pledged to continue to work with the executives at the various executive levels in the area to help retain the seat for the NPP come 2016.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi