Three New Political Parties Coming Up (5)

The Daily Dispatch has over the past few months, been cautioning that should the unification talks between the Convention People's Party and the People's National Convention fail, a new political party would be formed to replace them.

Today, the paper says it can report that at the end of December 2005, three parties were in the process of being formed, all in the Nkrumahist political tradition.

According to the Dispatch, edited by Pollster Ben Ephson, by the time you finish reading this analysis, some of the questions, which will run through your mind include, will be if these groups decide to come together? With which of these groups will the 'camp' of Dr. Asamoah collaborate?

One of the groups has the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, currently chairman and chief executive officer of the Star Assurance Group of Companies, as one of its leaders.

Dr. Duffuor, who will be 63 years on January 21, was the head of Ghana's central Bank from July 1997 to September 2001. He had, before this appointment, been appointed a Deputy Governor of the Bank, capping 28 years of commercial and central banking career in Ghana, United States and Britain.

One of the leaders of the potential parties is one of the three CPP Members of Parliament, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom.

Currently, MP for the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem, Dr. Nduom who will be 53 years on February 15, is currently Minister of State in charge of Public Sector Reform.

Analysts believe that some leading members of the NPP government do not welcome Dr. Nduom's presence in the NPP government of President John Kufuor in general.

The third group has a working political party name—the Patriots.

The leading members include Dr. Agyeman Badu- Akosah, Director General of the Ghana Health Service; Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso of the University of Ghana and Bright Akwetey, a lawyer and leading member of the Ga Dangme Council.

A source close to the camp of Dr. Obed Asamoah confirmed that they are in contact with all the above named potential political parties, holding broad consultations. He also confirmed there are talks with the National Reform Party.

The source; ' What we are doing now is to consolidate our support bases and generally re-assure our followers that within the next three months, we will arrive at some far reaching decisions '. The dispatch promises to give some more details in its subsequent publications.