Is NPP Broke After 18 Months In Opposition?

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is broke just after 18 months in opposition, making it extremely difficult for the National Executive Committee to manage its affairs, Ghana News Agency (GNA) investigations established on Wednesday.

The investigations revealed that Mr Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, National Chairman of the Party, had to mortgage his house to raise the needed funds to pay the salaries of workers and provide logistics to run the administration and to organise the National Delegates Congress scheduled for Saturday, August 7, 2010.

The congress is to elect a Flag-Bearer for Election 2012.

The various sources, who spoke to GNA on different occasions on condition of anonymity, said their problem has been compounded by the enlargement of the Electoral College from about 2,400 delegates, who participated in the December 2007 Congress, to about 100,000 delegates for the upcoming August 7 Congress.

It has come out clearly that the proponents of the reforms never anticipated the extra financial burden and other operational challenges, a National Executive Member observed.

The Party's records made available to GNA indicate that during the December 2007 Congress, it raised about GH¢425,000 from nomination fees of the 17 Flag-Bearer Aspirants, but had managed to raise only GH¢125,000 from the five aspirants this time around.

The Executive Member said even though the huge number of aspirants in 2007 was a problem it improved the Party's financial resources and enabled the organisation of the December 2007 Congress.

However, under the current circumstances the money realised from the five Aspirants was highly inadequate, hence the wisdom in asking them to pay GH¢50,000 in addition to raise GH¢250,000, the Source explained.

The five aspirants are: Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Former Chief Executive Officer of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital; and Mr Isaac Osei, Member of Parliament for Subin and Ghana's Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Others are: Mr John Kwame Koduah, a Kumasi-based Legal Practitioner; Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, Former Minister of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiative and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, NPP's Presidential Candidate in Election 2008.