Press Statement By Concerned NDC Youth

We the concerned NDC Youth would want to register our indignation at an attempt by President Mills and his cohorts to divide the rank and file of the National Democratic Congress. We have intercepted a letter signed by Mr. Bebaaku Mensah, Secretary to the President in which it has been confirmed that President John Evans Atta Mills is due to meet with all NEC members at Peduase Lodge on Friday 18th March 2011. The meeting which has been scheduled to take place at 11am is presumed to be in line with recent moves on the part of members of the President’s campaign team ahead of this year’s congress to determine who will lead the NDC into the 2012 elections.

Surprising, however Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings who is a National Executive member by the virtue of her position as a first vice chairperson of the party have not been invited and when Bebaaku Mensah was questioned over the letter he signed he was quoted as saying he was instructed by the Deputy chief of staff, Dr, Valerie Sawyer whose father Harry Sawyer is a member of the council of elders.

With the President always keen on giving the impression of wanting to save on State resources it is somewhat surprising that NEC members all over the country are being asked to convene at Peduase lodge at the expenses of the tax payer. Despite the fact that no date has yet been given for the congress, members of the President's team have been using state resources in traversing the country soliciting and intimidating party members into repositioning themselves in order to gain the upper hand at the forth coming congress.

Even though no other candidate has as yet shown or declared interest it is presumed that Nana Konadu Agyeman - Rawlings will by popular demand be the candidate who will challenge the sitting President.

Indeed the Presidency's recent polls as well as that on Peace FM online .com and other outfits revealed that Mrs Rawlings was as much as three times more popular than the President. It is for this reason that both the Presidency in cohouts with the party General Secretary and Chairman have sought to manipulate and pressurize those involved in campaigning and the delegates to ensure that they have an unfair advantage come time for the congress.

This has included the provision of Lexus vehicles for the general secretary and party Chairman and neutrals are particularly upset that a party whose principles are based on social democracy no longer have a greater sense of integrity. For how long can we continue to allow ourselves to be fooled by our political leaders?

What actually is the rationale behind this gathering of the members of the NEC excluding the first vice chair person who is also a NEC member?

If this forum is not another platform of doling out cash to selected party executives in an attempt to bad-mouth the former first lady Nana Konadu, as has been the norm these days, then what is the purpose for this intended Peduose lodge meeting? What exactly are the people in the helm of affairs up to?

We are not enthused at the way President Mills as the leader of the party is handling matters. As someone who doubles as a leader and the political committee chairman of the party, we expect him to know better. His Presidency have adopted divide and rule tactics and have also introduced exclusionism into the party. It is either you sing the chorus of “all is well” or to hell with you. Woe betides you if you dare offer constructive criticisms of the Mills’ administration. You are either label anti-NDC or “Rawlings Boy” The Presidency has suddenly targeted some ardent NDC supporters as Rawlings boys and girls who are rather out to destroy the party. According to President Mills and his cronies, no one is supposed to be sympathetic to Rawlings any longer because he is now in charge. It is also a common knowledge that appointment of District Chief Executives and other government appointments are based on the candidate’s preparedness to denounce the Rawlingses. So we ask; how interesting can it get?

President Mills has along with his wife pronounced that he would be standing as a candidate as early as 2009 yet the party hierarchy has maintained a dignified silence over his declaration, and they have also failed to censure him for speaking in a manner that is unbefitting of a gentleman and great politician.

Not too long ago the party General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, did tell us that until nominations open, no one is allowed to openly declare his/her candidature for any contest in the party. Yet the president has been given easy pass to flout party regulations every now and then. Is the president above all others? Is the party leadership saying that the President can declare his bid but others cannot? Is it a case of double standards or hypocrisy or is a clear case of giving someone an undue advantage over the others?

Many well meaning party activists have been calling for an expansion of the electoral base to enable ordinary members of the party to have a say in decision making yet leadership has turned a blind eye to this call and are rather denouncing these ordinary members whose toil brought the party back to power.

While President Mills’ led government is fiddling with governance, the party is disintegrating and nobody seems to know what to do. And many of our people are looking on instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of NDC our founder toil for.

While there are some who would contend that the party leadership is at liberty to do as it pleases, we cannot mortgage our party’s development by entrusting the affairs of the party into the hands of a leadership that reels under a siege-mentality, in a century of increased openness, and sees dissenting opinions or groups as enemies of the party.

The concerned NDC youth is sending a note of caution to the party leadership that, we are monitoring events in the party closely and at this stage, we can only say that the party is sitting on a time bomb waiting to explode.

The future of our great party belongs to the youths and sooner rather than later, we would stand up and deploy all legitimate violence to take our party back from the hands of modern day TRAITORS and polish it to reflect the ideals that we spout!

Long live NDC

Long live Social Democracy

Signed

Africanus Nii Abbey - National Co-ordinator ( Concerned NDC Youth)