2012 A Year Of Change -- The CPP Factor

“ Cometh the hour, cometh the man “ , in our case the “organization , The CPP “

The year 2011 has laid the foundation for change . In fact it started in 2008 when President Obama became leader of the “ Free world”. He got there through the efforts of common people and their donations . Many years earlier , a man named Kwame Nkrumah from an unknown village of Nkroful had done the same thing . He was guided by a vision and matched with zeal, determination and organizational ability that he used to mobilized people and got them independence . That independence was of only political nature . He started the second phase of economic freedom which included the liberation of the mind , a United Africa which is an African proud of his heritage but this was cut short by the detractors. We need to continue his work where he sought to make us independent in thought , through education, food ,through a vigorous agricultural policy , and economics by our adding value to our raw materials and converting them into manufactured goods and services , research and development in order to be at the cutting edge of innovation

Election 2012 and the choices we have NDC, NPP, CPP

The CPP as a progressive party should be in the fore front of change. The CPP has been too quiet on issues of corruption , even in the Judiaciary. The party should now assume the mantle of being the conscience of the nation . Too many issues seem to be an NPP/NDC affair with the result the truth gets lost in the mud slinging contest . It is time the CPP steps up . If Ghana is to remain peaceful , then there is the need to weed out corruption and hold people in authority accountable. This should not be a party, tribal, religious, nor gender issue . The massive financial losses to the State , through corruption , mal feasance or negligence should be stopped . They retard our progress and this affects all of us . Should we not learn from our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and the spring up rising in the Arab world? Can we so easily forget the lessons of June 4th . That should be the role of the Shadow attorney general ., our information unit and the mobilized masses . Political office should remain a service to the nation , not a licence to LOOT . But what do we see , silence

Food security through large scale farming . The approach to this very vital issue is very disturbing . Food production is vital especially because of the population explosion taking place . Again we have choices of small peasants doing what they can or a large scale plantation farms . Let us be bold for the State to come in instead of outsiders coming to take the land . After all who will till the land ? Should it not be us ? Must we all sit in offices or sell dog chains ? CPP needs to educate the masses of pride of labor .” Work and happiness” used to be our socialist slogan. Out detractors will say socialism is the equivalent of laziness or waiting for handouts from the state. Was the Soviet Union waiting when it beat the West in the space race ? China , the fastest growing economy has been a socialist country since 1948 . It is now a partnership of state and private enterprise after coming out of a peasant economy using a socialist model. So must the CPP be ashamed or run away from its roots . Adapt yes ,because “it is only fools who do not change their minds”

Industrialization . Nkrumah started a program of “ import substitution”. We have witnessed the reversal of these by our detractors serving the masters interest by instituting “export substitution “.Their slogan is , that local factories produce shoddy goods”. So they shut down all from sugar to paper, to jute,to tooth pick . They have not replaced them . Now we do not have GIA which replaced Ghana Airways , because the proponents of “ trickle down” have looted everything . Their slogan is “once the wealthy are Ok all is well” What has happened in the Arab world ? Egypt has the second highest GDP in Africa , but there is unequal distribution of wealth so the masses took to the streets

The State should play a big role in the industrialization drive having learnt lessons from the past. We need a vibrant “middle class’ . We need avenues for social mobility

Africa needs to Unite and adopt the social democratic model that has been lying idle and growing dusty. How has the “ trickle down model “ turned even one African country into a super wealthy country . We need to break down the barriers , so we can have ease of African markets . Why is there the EU , a vast china market, an Indian market of 1.5bn people , but across Africa we have a market in Gambia of 1.7 million people and an area of 10000 sq miles. They are not alone , Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho , Burundi, Rwanda. The Congos have not known a day of peace since independence, Togo , Gabon, Equatorial Guinea have become the private properties of a certain families .

The time has come to elect a PROGRESSIVE Ghana government that has the same vision as our founding father , that will push for the ordinary person in the street .The CPP needs to repeat what its founder did , go back to the grass roots , knock on doors, sell our ideas, educate the masses and mobilize them using volunteers . We have done it and we can do it again ‘ Nkrumah never dies”

Let us replace “ Independence Now “ with “ African Unity NOW “

“ The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked with the total liberation of Africa “ United we stand , divided we fall

The writer Kojo Tamakloe is a Pan Africanist and Nkrumaist . He believes African Unity is possible and is a solution to Africa’s poverty and under development

Foerward Ever , backward never