Time for Convention People's Party to act - Freddie Blay

(Evening News) -- Mr Freddie Blay, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Member of Parliament for Ellembele has urged supporters of the party to engage in a healthy debate aimed at fashioning out a policy to push the party forward.

Mr Blay who is also the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament was speaking to The Evening News in Accra on the way forward for the CCP tradition in the light of the 53rd anniversary of the formation of the party, which fell last Wednesday. The MP said that there was the need for the party to be rejuvenated to target the youth since the bulk of the ardent supporters and activities of the party are at present old weak-limbed.

He said the fight for the rejuvenation of the CPP is for the new millennium where the youth who only read about Nkrumah but did not know him could be attracted to his vision, which remains relevant, and to take up the mantle of leadership and organisation of the tradition.

He said the fortunes of the party at the moment are not attractive since the party, for example, has only one member in parliament. Mr Blay said the support-base of the CPP in terms of numbers had dwindled as shown by the results of the last election.

He said while there was no need to provide excuses for what people could clearly attest to about the ordeals of the CPP, it cannot be denied that the PNDC/NDC tradition in 1981 took over power from the coup d'etat dubbed, "Holy war," from the CPP tradition, the People’s National Party (PNP). Mr Blay said that historical fact dealt a big blow to the CPP tradition.

The first deputy speaker said it was regrettable because, that was the second time the tradition had suffered a coup d’etat after it had fought hard to win the mandate of the people through election, the first being the 1966 overthrow. Mr Blay said the tradition as a result of its resilience, could have immediately regained its prominence but the PNP that gave rise to the NDC prowled on it and targeted the tradition with its rhetoric of leftist politics.

He said a whole lot of people believe that PNP was not fast enough in delivery and consequently joined the bandwagon. For that reason, Mr Blay said the PNPC/NDC depleted and took away a great percentage of the ordinary sympathisers and supporters of the tradition in the country.

Mr Blay said there was the need to give hope to the youth by discussing the future as related to their vision. He said the CPP ought to be realistic in its aspirations in terms of what is possible within the context of its achievements, limitations and possibilities.

Mr Blay said for instance that, the CPP ought to use the next four years to re-organise, work hard, and increase its membership and representation in parliament by the year 2004. How to increase the membership of the CPP and its representation in parliament is what should be debated and that should not lend itself to any don-quixotic thinking that the party could win the 2004 election" he said.

That is possible in politics but it is improbable and unrealistic for us to think that we could capture power in 2004, he added. That will be day-dreaming and could expose the party to ridicule." Mr Blay said what is possible is the CPP capturing a few more seats at least in parliament to strengthen the party.

He said it is irritating that some people are still divided over issues of what name the CPP should adopt, a subject that should be left to only egoist and self-seekers. Mr Blay said the ideals of the CPP ought to be examined in terms of its socialist and welfarist out-look and also the fact that it is a party for ordinary people. He said the CPP strategy of state involvement in the productive sectors of the economy should be reviewed considering the realities of the world economic trends if it was to be relevant.

Mr Blay said if that is not done, the party would be encompassed or pigeonholed by rote rhetoric of few individual ostriches that are impervious to the realities of the times. He said even the NPP whose predecessor, the United Party, was the CPP tradition rival, no longer pursues an unbridled laissez faire economic policy, which it stood for sometime ago.