Botchwey Committee will be 'incompetent' to blame me - Omane Boamah

The former Minister for Communications, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah is demanding a copy of the Kwesi Botwey Committee report.

This is to enable him ascertain the truth in a pbulication by online portal Ghana Web which seeks to implicate him in the party's defeat in the 2016 general elections.

In a post on his Facebook page, the former Communications Minister explains though he doubts the committee will do such an "incompetent job", it is however to help him correct an erranous impression and also repond appropriately to such spurious conclusions.

"I doubt that, the Committee will do such an incompetent job - information gathering and evaluation, analysis based on glaring evidence of the causal associations and causes of the outcome of the 2016 elections etc - hence I have instructed my Lawyer to write to the General Secretary of, our great party, the NDC to demand a copy of the report to enable me respond appropriately to any such spurious conclusion(s)," his post read.

The Kwesi Botwey committee after six months of work, has handed its report to the NDC National Chairman Kofi Portuphy.

The Chairman Prof. Kwesi Botchwey proceeded to feed the media with some seven recommendations contained in the report.

In the report subtitled "listening to the voice of the grassroots", Prof. Botchwey pressed the NDC leadership to consider the peace-making and healing tour as "extremely important".

This is because it will create the "necessary conditions for any serious work that needs to be done" in restructuring the party, he said.

The Committee also touched on the big issue of the party's biometric register which became a source of discontent within the grassroot.

There were claims the register had been infiltrated by non-NDC members while recognisable party figures at the branch level could not find their names on the list.

Prof. Kwesi Botchwey's committee recommended that the party must work to "restore the integrity of the biometric register".

The report mentioned the expansion of the party's electoral college in its recommendations.

In 2014, the NDC announced an expansion of its electoral college from 4,000 to about 250,000.

The NDC General Secretary explained, “our intention is to scrap the electoral college system and then allow every party member to vote when it comes to our primaries for the selection of parliamentary candidates and then for the selection of the presidential candidates.”

The 13-member committee suggested the expansion of the electoral college to include ordinary party members to restore confidence in the democratic novelty.

This recommendation will also find favour with the former Health Minister in the erstwhile National Democratic Congress government, Alex Segbefia who blamed the defeat on the decision to expand the party's electoral college.

A key recommendation was that the party needs to reconnect with its social democratic philosophy.

This recommendation is expected to sit well with the NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia.

A week ago, he lamented that "even some ministers didn't understand the social democractic" political philosophy. He has called for an ideological training school for the party.

The Botchwey Committee report also pointed out the party has a weak intellectual and research base and recommended steps be taken to crowd the party with critical thinkers.

Other recommendations included restoring the capacity and effectiveness of party organs believed to have been sidelined in the run-up to the 2016 elections.

However, though the full report of the Kwesi Botwey Committee's has not been made public, some report seem to blame some former Ministers of State and some Former Government functionaries for the defeat of the party in the 2016 general elctions.

A copy of the facebook post

I have become aware of an unfortunate and grossly unimaginable online publication on Ghanaweb.com attributing NDC's defeat in the 2016 elections to me based on the respected 'Professor Kwesi Botchwey's Committee Report.'

I doubt that, the Committee will do such an incompetent job - information gathering and evaluation, analysis based on glaring evidence of the causal associations and causes of the outcome of the 2016 elections etc - hence I have instructed my Lawyer to write to the General Secretary of, our great party, the NDC to demand a copy of the report to enable me respond appropriately to any such spurious conclusion(s).

I have come to this painful decision in the supreme interest of our collective good as a party which is working very hard to heal, unite, reorganize, and to recapture power in 2020.

Long Live NDC! Long Live Ghana!!