NPP At Elections: You Have The Power To Secure The Future - Don’t Sell It!

In tomorrow’s party elections, NPP must demonstrate they are hungry for power to do more for Ghana and not just to collect a bit more. Delegates will signal their preparedness to dress up the party for battle. Taking money from contestants to vote for the highest bidder would be to sell the future of the party. The bell never tolls for your victory but for your sale. We should blow trumpets for victory tomorrow. We have 2 choices tomorrow - a trumpet for our re-birth or a signal of the death knell for the complete decimation of our 1 million vote revival which took place on 7^th December 2016. Its all in your hands. Do not assume the same faces are meant to succeed in life, it could be your turn, shaped by the decisions and changes you make today.

Until reform, it would appear to be almost foolhardy for anyone to attempt any internal party competition in Ghana with just a good speech in his hands.

I watched the video with riveting attention, about the recent clarion call for constitutional reforms from Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu. The Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament is advocating for reform of Ghana’s Presidential system of Government. He expressed a clear preference for the Westminster system of Government – to ensure that the Head of State at any time, is rendered accountable. It is not the first time he has appeared as acting in the overriding interest of Ghana.

He also made a further call against the monetisation of politics in Ghana. Mr Osei-Kyei Mensah Bonsu warned that our system of Government would fail if we continued in this Trajectory. The Leader of the House said that the Westminster system of Government renders the Prime minister accountable whilst the presidential system seems to install a monarch.

Let’s remember that no Conservative Prime Minister since David Cameron actually lost an election, at worst, they were dragged out of office by their own cabinet. Theresa May did not lose the British General Elections of 2017; she lost a mere 12 seats in a Parliament of 650 seats. She also won the vote of confidence motion tabled by Jeremy Corbyn on 15 January 2019 by 19 votes, after her Brexit Deal was rejected by 130 votes, representing the largest defeat for a sitting British government in modern history. Similarly, Borris Johnson as PM did not lose any popular vote but subsequently lost all his cabinet. It begs the question as to how much advice Ghanaian politicians can give to the leader when there is a clear need. I submit that it is not just the system of Government that is in issue in Ghana. It is the character and relative integrity of the people in politics. The willingness to stand up for Goodness, Mercy and Righteousness. If you cannot stand up for Goodness when your privacy has been secured by the opaque canvass of a polling booth, then you are of Zero influence in politics.

In my article, the Grand Illusion of Choice I referred to Hilary Clinton’s Book entitled ‘Hard Choices’, Hilary said: 'Life is about making such choices and how we handle them shape the people we become'. In my view, our choices make us what we are today and invariably determine whether we prosper or not. It is not just about voting for the highest bidder.

NPP has 2 vital years to go for our second term in office following our spectacular 1 million majority vote in 2016. The Imani President, Franklin Kudgo says that 2024 is not a done deal for either party and NPP can yet win but only with hardwork and vigilance. Ghanaians need change and we cannot offer them a choice with the same robes. Let us give them a choice!

In 2020, the popular vote of the president was cut by half and NPP’s majority in Parliament was reduced by 69 seats in a house of only 275 seats. No heads rolled but some of us appear eager to affirm some of our Party Officers seeking re-election. We will definitely change our Government as a matter of constitution. We have many other options for change too. Party members sometimes give the impression that performance does not matter if assessing party members. Is it acceptable to say that Organiser weas in post when we held the Largest Party International Conference of all time so we treat him as an excellent organiser, irrespective of whether he led i?.

With the best will in the world, not all that glitters will turn out to be diamond or Gold so mankind cannot cease praying for the best choice. Choosing can have wide ramifications, even the simplest of choice. Choice of marriage, choice of leaders, choice of friends, Career etc are all choices. They are all unsuspectingly difficult. Easy to choose or select and even to jubiliate even when you have won but the victory does not lie in the election result but in what your choice can do for party and country.

Some of us have found that recently, getting any political party to demonetize primaries/elections is like squeezing blood out of a stone.

It is surprising though that party party bureaucrats and delegates don’t seem to demand any special skills or qualities in parliamentary candidates but it is urgent that we begin to explore the quality of parliamentary candidates and party officers. A look at the conservative party’s requirements will reveal that, to qualify for consideration by a constituency as their Parliamentary Candidate, one ought to have made it to an approved list after passing a 5-hour assessment even after review and acceptance of one’s application and references. Overall, one ought to show the following competencies: Good Communication skills; significant Intellect; The ability to relate to people; Leadership and motivational skills; Resilience and drive; Conviction (knowledge of core beliefs and values)

;Some of which would be almost unmentionable in Ghana’s politics even though critical to the assessment of one’s ability to partake effectively in the process of

Let me end by saying some of our past officers appear to have counted their constitutional transgressions as part of their achievements. It should never be reflected as a positive attribute in our vote. We need to be ‘born again’ if we are to break the so called 8.

BY KWAME OHENE ASARE