Dan Botwe, the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Sunday warned that individuals or groups of the party that would cause mischief in the NPP would be crushed.
He said the NPP would not suppress freedom of expression among its rank and file but it would also not allow its image to be dragged into the mud. The General Secretary said any member of the NPP could speak his or her mind even if it was against President John Agyekum Kufuor provided that was in the supreme interest of the party.
Botwe was speaking at the Brong-Ahafo Regional Delegates' Congress in Sunyani to elect new Regional Executive Officers to lead the Party to the 2004 polls. ''The fact that any Party member can express his or her opinion does not mean that, anybody can do whatever he or she wishes to bring to dent the reputation of the party and bring its image down.''
Botwe advised the party members against rushing to the law courts with their grievances but to exhaust all channels of redress in accordance with the party's administrative grievance-handling procedure.
He said the NPP had strong machinery, capacity and proper laid-down structure to settle amicably all scores within the party. Botwe asked all members to adhere to the letter and spirit of the party's constitution.
The General Secretary recounted the ordeals and struggle members of the party went through since 1992 before winning the 200 general elections to assume the reins of government.
He noted that the party did not win the 2000 elections by any magical means but through commitment and dedication of members because it had no resources and logistics to match the affluence of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Botwe charged the executive members of the party at all levels to run the party as a business-entity to ensure that their activities were well coordinated. Botwe, therefore, charged the executive members of all constituencies to submit their action plans through the Regional Offices of the Party to the National Secretariat by 15 March this year.
He warned that, by the deadline any constituency that failed to go by the directive, its executive members would be suspended. The Secretary General indicated that, the party's target of winning between 140 and 150 parliamentary seats could not be achieved with the reliance on voters who voted for it to win the 101 seats alone.
He said they must therefore woo the supporters from other political parties and the 'floating votes', adding that members of the party must embrace people from other parties.
Botwe assured that, the party would not have problem with logistics, stressing that, "the days of Tico are over" since the party would do all it could to meet the logistical needs of the constituencies during electioneering campaigns.
He urged the executives of the party, especially those of the constituency and regional branches to form committees to facilitate their activities. Botwe said by the end of March this year, the party would organize constituency congresses for members to deliberate and brainstorm on issues affecting them and the way forward for the 2004 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
