Contest in NPP is not life and death – Prempeh

An aspirant for the Regional Chairmanship position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ashanti Region, Hon. Kwame Osei Prempeh has called on aspirants vying for positions at polling station, constituency and the regional levels to treat the contest as an internal one, and refrain from excessiveness that have the tendency to denigrate the image of the party.

The former Attorney General and Minister of Justice says he is worried at the rate some contestants have been conducting themselves in their quest to lead the party, describing it as dangerous for the unity and progress of the party.

According to him, contest within the party should not be seen as a matter of life and death, for which some aspirants resort to unnecessary and outrageous actions, including paying bribes and blackmailing their opponents, just to win positions.

“Why should simple party contest spark uproar amongst us, why should we indulge in acts that only end up hurting us,” he observed.

Citing the ongoing legal disputes at some constituencies and invocation of deities against some constituency executives, the aspiring NPP regional chairman said such actions only go a long way to eventually hurt the party and make it unpopular in the eyes of voters.

He wondered why people who claim to seek position to serve the party would indulge in acts that clearly negate the peace and unity needed within the party.

“Lets us know that whatever we do, there is only one aim and that is to serve the party, and so if the objective is to serve the party, why do we have to engage in acts that would create problems for the same party we are seeking power to serve,” he queried.

Hon. Kwame Prempeh, therefore, cautioned that if such unfortunate incidents are not nipped in the bud, it could cost the party dearly. “We must not forget that any single member that we hurt, there is the likelihood that other distance relatives and family members are also affected and you can imagine how this can end up affecting the electoral fortunes of the party,” he observed.

Asked what he intends to do to help prevent such anomalies from happening if he wins the chairmanship, the former Deputy Minister of Justice and A-G said he would establish two main directorates to deal with all issues concerning grievances and complaints with dispatch.

He said he would set up Complaints and Conflicts Resolution Units to proactively handle all internal squabbles that may arise.

“The problem is that some of these issues are not tackled at the beginning, if there is a unit that is operating 24 hours and dealing with complaints, I believe the issues will be tackled at their early stages and will not be allowed to fester,“ he stressed.

The aspirant said with his background in conflict management, assuring that with a masters’ degree in Conflict Resolution and Management from the Kofi Annan International Peace-Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), he will personally chair the Conflict Management Unit and help resolve all matters brought before it.

“I have worked 24 years as a legal practitioners and coupled with my political experience, I hope to put them at the service of the party to help us win the 2016 elections,” he promised.