Kufuor’s call for full-time backroom staff apt – Lecturer

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s advice to the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to employ professionals who do not desire political positions as full-time staff to help steer the party in its daily affairs is a step in the right direction, Osei Kwadwo, a political science lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), has said.

According to him, this advice, when taken into consideration, will advance the development of the nation, therefore, all the political parties in Ghana must give heed.

Mr Kufuor, while speaking at the NPP’s delegates’ conference in Cape Coast on Saturday, August 28 said: “It is not every office that must be voted for. The leadership definitely must be voted for, but under the leadership, we must have full-time backroom staff who are very professional thinkers and workers.

“The backroom people don’t tend to be too good on platforms; that is the profession of politicians like us. But invariably behind us, we’ve got the backroom people working for us. It’s the same in government. So the party headquarters must be equipped with such full-timers.

“They must be paid well, and their role is just to sit and think and strategize. Let’s do that. Communication, for instance, is very much professional, strategizing and think tanking. If it is on the economy or whatever aspect of life, these days, you must have some professionals… His role is not to seek public office, but he must be there, employed by the party.

“Of course for loyalty sake, they must belong to a party. Once we’ve found such people, let’s pay them well, let’s keep them in the back room. If they should show up asking to be General Secretary or women’s leader, such a person must be removed. But as long as they will stay in there and strategize for us to have medium to long-term view of things, they will be strengthening the party’s future.”

Speaking on this in an interview with Accra News on Monday, August 28, Mr Osei Kwado, who is also a legal practitioner said: “This call is apt, it is a step in the right direction because it will ensure that we get the actual development we need as a country.

“I was wondering why he did not make this proposal official to the party and all other parties in the country but I think it is not too late.”

He added: “There are many people with the right ideas to support political parties but are unwilling to take front line seats. These people can help provide the kind of expertise the parties need to develop the country and so for me this is a good call.”