Unity and organisation is said to be one of the most immediate needs of the Conventions Peoples Party (CPP). Most members of the CPP have blamed leadership for the inability of the party whiles others have also said that it is the members in the constituencies who should organise to make the party strong. Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom believes it will take the collective efforts of the leadership and members to make the CPP a strong force in the body politic of Ghana.
In line with this mindset as Dr. Nduom has always been a practical man, he has begun a series of meetings with constituency executives of the various regions to discuss how the CPP can become a very viable party for the 2012 general elections.
The first of such meetings was held at Hohoe in the Volta region on Wednesday, 5th October 2011. The meeting was attended by Constituency Executives from all constituencies in the Volta region. It discussed how to unify the party, find resources and select very credible parliamentary candidates for the Volta Region so that the CPP can get some seats in the Volta region come 2012 elections.
Dr. Nduom who addressed a very elated meeting stated that he had not come to announce his candidacy. He had come there to discuss progress and development of the CPP. He had come to have honest interactions with the members of the CPP since the party is on his heart.
He disputed allegations that he had campaigned against Mr. George Aggudey during the 2004 elections and rather stated that in 2004, Mr. Aggudey got the highest votes from KEEA where he (Dr. Nduom) won as MP, just as he also got the highest votes in Jomoro in 2008 where Samia Nkrumah had won as MP. He therefore believes that, if the CPP does not have good parliamentary candidates then it shall not get more votes. He called on the national executives to come out with plans for the parliamentary primary elections very early, so that the candidates can have enough time to campaign. On that note, he reaffirmed his decision to support 50 parliamentary candidates with resources and logistics like T shirts, banners, posters etc. He would however ask the National Leadership of the CPP to determine which 50 parliamentary candidates he should support.
On the issue of party offices, Dr. Nduom charged the Volta Regional executives to immediately look for five constituencies which needs office and let him know about it so that he will come and assist them to get the offices opened and provided with chairs.
He charged the Constituency Executives to work hard in making sure that every polling station is well organised for the party. He also urged them to convert members of their family and community to vote the CPP in all elections that are coming.
Dr. Nduom noted that party building cannot be successful if members of the party left all the work for the National Chairman alone. He advised them to desist from the culture of expecting the National Chairman alone to build the party. If all constituency executives worked harder to make sure that the party was organised on the grass root level, then the party will become a very successful one. And so he advised all the executives to make sure they organise to support the national leadership of the party.
In his final statements, Dr. Nduom announced that he is already prepared to help the CPP become stronger. He is preparing 10 pickups to hand over to all ten regional offices of the party. He has already started opening offices for 60 constituencies in the CPP. He was optimistic that if Unity and Discipline is given prominence in the party, then the party will do better in the in 2012. Since a lot of the executives had been calling Dr. Nduom to ask him whether he will contest again or not, he rather put the question to them for their answers. This generated a lot of comments from the delegates who were mostly ascribing reasons to why they think he must contest as flag bearer again. Some thought he should contest again because his involvement in the party has resulted in the youthful enthusiasm that is seen in the party now. Others thought that he is qualified for the job and so if he still feels like contesting then they would support his bid. Some also alluded that he who starts a battle must finish fighting as a winner. They therefore urged him to contest again since they think there is victory ahead of him and the party
The Volta regional Chairman of the CPP, Mr. Ahiadzro thanked Dr. Nduom for the visit and the commitments he has made to help the party. He was happy about the preparations Dr. Nduom is making towards organisation of the party. He urged all members of the party to Unite for a stronger CPP. Mr. Ahiadzro also suggested that this time around, all presidential aspirants should be asked to pay their budgeted amount for campaign into the party’s account before congress is even held. He believes that when this is done, then no presidential aspirant who fails to win will withdraw from the campaign.
OFFICE OF DR. PAPA KWESI NDUOM Tell: 0268857493 0208274852 0203623397
