NPP Second International Conference in Denver- A Great Success.

When then NPP-USA Chairman Kofi A. Boateng and his executive announced their intention to expand NPP-USA’s bi-annual Congress into an international conference under the theme Reflect, Rebuild and Recapture, few members imagined that attendance to the conference would be high. The mother-party had just suffered a heart-wrenching loss in a national election it was favored to win in Ghana; members were consequently angry at party officials who, they insist, are not receptive to new ideas, especially those presented by Ghanaians Living Abroad who are ardent members of NPP; and a 2008 Elections Review Committee has not released its report that was promised for April 30, 2009.

But then Friday May 29th arrived and so did representatives. The pace of their arrival was matched only by the flurry of late registrations, causing the host NPP-USA Denver Chapter to redouble its efforts for planning the logistics. With delegates from Canada, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Italy, and as far as China and Australia, the second NPP International Conference in Denver, Colorado ended up as the most highly attended conference of Ghana’s main opposition party outside the country.

Officials of the mother- party would not be outdone., The man who was 40,000 votes shy of becoming the current President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, accompanied by Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, Dr. Kobina Arthur Kennedy, Mr. Amfo Kwakye, Dr. Kwame Amoako Tufuor, Kofi “Kapito” and others graced the conference and made their voices heard.

The Party headquarters was well represented in person by the General Secretary Nana Ohene Ntow, International Affairs Director Charles Owiredu and National Youth Organizer, John Boadu. The Party’s structures were represented by Kwasi Adu-Gyan, Regional Chairman of Brong Ahafo; and Nii Adjei Sowah, Nii Tawiah and Rex Frimpong from the Greater Accra Region. Other heavyweights of NPP who expressed their thoughts were Party Elder Mr. Kwame Pianim and Dr. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng. The Parliamentary Caucus was represented by Hon. Dominic Nitiwul (Bimbilla).

NPP-USA was very well represented by attendees from Atlanta, California, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Dallas, Denver, Florida, Houston, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, and Washington DC/Maryland/Virginia, Friday evening was reserved for the customary networking and a camaraderie dinner at the home of Dr. and Mrs DeSouza, where everyone mingled and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner. . It was nice to see Nana Akufo-Addo, Mr. Kwame Pianim, Dr. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, shoulder to shoulder in line to serve themselves and occasionally dropping a morsel on others’ plates to make sure all had plenty to eat. Our collective thanks to Dr. Samuel and Ruth DeSouza for opening up their beautiful home to us and the members of NP-USA Denver Chapter, led by Barima Boadi Amponing, and ably assisted by Tony and Yaa Frimpong for the masterful attention to detail that ensured the Conference’s success. By the time the attendees were bussed back to the Red Lion Hotel, the venue of the Conference, most were exhausted and retired to be ready for the Saturday eventful schedule. But not so for the NPP-USA Electoral Committee that was ushering in the implementation of One –Member, One Vote (OMOV) for the first time in the kingdom of NPP. That is using OMOV to elect NPP-USA’s officers instead of limiting it to delegates at the Conference.

Having orchestrated the first ever Internet voting for the election of a new NPP-USA Executives, the five-member Electoral Committee, under the watchful gaze of a three-member Independent Observer team, tabulated the final results, including mailed-in paper ballots. That was the easy part; the difficult part was keeping the results secret for 24 hours before having to declare them. But given the constant tests all day Saturday, and the reaction of the candidates to the declared results, it appears no one leaked the results.

On Saturday morning (May 30, 2009), delegates were still arriving and heading to the conference room that featured the party’s colors and logo everywhere. Delegates behaved just as they were dressed – very professionally. What planners feared would turn into an angry “venting” session rather turned out to be perhaps the most respectful and candid combination of exchanges and presentations not seen at typical party congresses. NPP-USA Chairman Kofi A. Boateng was brilliant in controlling emotions and guiding the conference making sure to do his best to give each one a chance to speak. He particularly emphasized that there should be no criticism of anyone who was not in the room to defend him/herself and all should speak with respect being careful not to say anything they would regret since the cameras were rolling. To this Nana Akufo-Addo added: “ “President John A. Kufuor has been a great and successful President for Ghana and I strongly urge all to desist from name calling, unsubstantiated accusations and any form of bashing of one of the illustrious sons of the NPP and Ghana.”

Keynote Speakers, panelists and contributors did justice to the theme of the Conference “Reflect, Rebuild and Recapture” that speaks for itself. . There were moments of tension as participants and speakers shared their views of what ails the party, particularly what caused the unexpected loss of the 2008 Presidential and parliamentary elections. However people listened. Those who had to, defended or explained their actions or lack thereof and in the end the fourth theme that Alan Kyeremateng had pleaded for in his message, “Reunite” was achieved, at least, in Denver.

Given the serious tone of the conference, the customary dinner dance struggled to be exciting. Traditionally, a successful congress ends with an exciting entertainment component for a grand finale. Not this time. Although attendees still made a long night out of it, they spent much of their time talking and strategizing. Their determination unmistakable, their mindset resolute, their spirit unbroken, and their commitment unwavering, attendees said farewell among those leaving on early flights out on Sunday before calling it a night.

Those leaving town later were treated to “Emotuo” and “Waakye” that some characterized as “memorable.” That’s not all; the host chapter took them on a breath-taking tour of the Colorado Rockies known for its unparalleled beauty. Not until the last non-host delegate left town, that members of the Denver chapter had the opportunity to notice their fatigue. They had to have worked some 20 hour days to be able to plan and execute one of the most efficiently run party congresses in the history of NPP-USA.

The winners of the NPP-USA Executive elections using OMOV, where 243 members voted, 400% more than traditionally votes at a physical Congress were: Chairman- Nana Kwaku Agyei-Yeboah (Connecticut), Vice Chairman- Kwasi Sarpong Afrifa (New York), General Secretary- Dr. Phillip Bannor (Tennessee) and Treasurer- Barima Boadi-Amponing (Treasurer). These Executives together with NPP-USA’s Advisory Board will appoint the remaining members of the national executive with the goals of gender, ethnic and regional diversity as guide.

For his excellent leadership in building up NPP-USA to a prominent and well resourced organization with significant sums raised, membership levels increased and leaving a healthy balance in the bank, the Chairpersons of NPP-USA surprised Mr. Kofi A. Boateng with an award that left him speechless for a moment. Kofi “ROPAA” thanked all the Chapter Executives and leaders of the party in the international branches who together contributed to the success together. He thanked all the leaders from Ghana and led the call for a moment with destiny in 2012 to occupy Jubilee house with ROPAA fully implemented and NPP using OMOV to elect its leaders in the future..

Congratulations to the winners of NPP-USA very spirited and historic elections, a thanks to the Electoral Committee of Jermaine Nkrumah, Dr, Agyenim Boateng, IT Specialist, Augustine Blay, Yaa Frimpong and Daniel Ofori-Som who did a superb job to ensure success of OMOV implementation within two months at virtually no cost.