We are ahead of the NPP – CJA

The Committee for Joint Action (CJA) has strongly responded to an attack on the group by the minority leader in Parliament, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu.

Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu recently mocked members of the pressure group, the Committee for Joint Action (CJA), for what he described as ‘loud silence’.

However, speaking at a press conference, the leadership of the pressure group stated that the CJA is far ahead of the New Patriotic Party and will not take any lessons from the NPP when it comes to the struggles against hardships that are imposed on the people of this country.

“We wish to state without equivocation that the NPP and their supporters have no moral right to ask the CJA to embark on demonstrations. We say this because this is the same NPP that between 2005 and 2008 subjected CJA members, supporters and sympathisers to massive beatings and helicopter attacks when they went on demonstrations.

"This is the same NPP which took us to court to stop us from going on a peaceful procession to commemorate Ghana’s 50th Anniversary of Independence. This is the same NPP that used footage of our demonstration in TV advertisements to mock us as unemployed hooligans. What moral right do the NPP and their supporters have to demand of us to go on demonstrations?”

The convener of the CJA, Mr. Kwasi Adu, also said, “The NPP claimed to have over 4 million voters supporting them at the last elections. Those people have the same means as members of the CJA to go on a march. They should stop drawing the CJA into their shameless political gamesmanship”.

Shortly after coming to power in early 2001, the NPP government increased the prices of fuel massively without regards to the plight of the people of this country. Then after several relatively minor increases, they hiked up the prices by about 90.48% in January 2003.

It was when after several other increases, they raised the prices once again by 50% on February 2005 that many Ghanaians considered that enough was enough. This and other reasons pertaining to government-sponsored corruption is what brought about the formation of the CJA.

The Committee for Joint Action (CJA) has since become a reference point in the recent struggles against hardships in Ghana.

The press conference was held at the Freedom Centre on Thursday January 15th and was attended by leading members of the CJA including Mr. Kwasi Adu, Mr. Kwesi Pratt Jr, Madam Emelia Holmes and Duke Tagoe.