Additional questions for pollsters; vision for economy and contribution to party

Now the campaigns have kicked off in earnest after vetting, we can enrich the conversations around polls, whether contrived or authentic, with the three themes common to all campaigns. These are, vision for the nation and party, and contribution to the party.

Vision for the economy. Alan has clearly stated that, had Ghanaians not voted out the NPP in 2008, continued tooling of the Presidential Special Initiative (PSI) could have by now lifted our economy with an additional 40-50 billion dollars per annum, diversifying our range of export incomes and thereby reducing pressure on the cedi from foreign exchange markets, increasing job and income opportunities, improving tax inflows for the government, and essentially moving us beyond periodic visits to the IMF.

Alans’ vision for overhauling the economy in favour of industrialisation and sustainable jobs and incomes is laid out in the Great Transformational Plan (GTP), designed to flow seamlessly from the current Post-Covid plan of the Government. The ten-point Industrial Transformation component of the GTP incorporates the PSIs as Industrial Starch (cassava), Industrial Chemicals (salt), Vegetable Oils & Fats (oil palm), and Garments & Textiles.

The first strategic point of the GTP is “a strong macroeconomic environment”. Alan proposes fresh measures to lower interest rates below double digit, recalibrate inflation targeting and manage excessive fluctuation of the cedi. Alan is about jobs, jobs and jobs.

In contrast, H.E the Vice President, the economic guru, is yet to offer a concrete vision of how to deal with our boisterous macro “fundamentals”. No economic lecture is forthcoming. Instead, he hints of a vision known only to himself and appropriates most of the current Government programs as his doing. Nothing new about our current economic situation.

Aspirant Vice President’s vision for the Party is to assign Government positions to a few Party aficionados who are expected to use those positions to “grandfather” or “godfather?” constituencies. That is a recipe to nowhere.

On the contrary, Alan has pledged to modernise the Party. Modernisation includes but is not limited to payments of salaries, social security and pensions, provision of made for purpose buildings and technical and operational capacity building. Based on the current law on party funding, he will put the Party on a private sector path to sustenance, as he did before with the Constituency Business Ventures (CBV), which in the 2006-8 primaries cycle, gave every constituency a business venture of their choice.

Relevant parts of the Political Parties Law 2000 (Act 574), state as follows;

4(3) A political party shall upon registration under this Act be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, may sue and be sued in its corporate name, and shall have the power to acquire, hold, manage or dispose of movable or immovable property and enter into any contract or other transaction as any legal person.”

21(1)(a) return in the form specified by the Commission indicating

(i) the state of its accounts

(ii) the sources of its funds

(iii) membership dues paid

(iv) contributions or donations in cash or kind

(v) the properties of the party and time of acquisition, etc

23(1) Only a citizen may contribute in cash or kind to the funds of a political party.

23(2) A firm, partnership, or enterprise owned by a citizen or a company registered under the laws of the Republic at least seventy-five percent of whose capital is owned by a citizen is for the purpose of this Act a citizen.

The combined import of the stated provisions of Act 574 are that numerous Party officers are ‘citizens’ with capacity to do business in support of the Party either from their positions within the Party or on their own as Party members. Therefore, Alan will actively promote and support Party citizens to deliver the resources necessary to run the Party and fund elections. He has a plan for his pledge to modernise the Party.

Finally, His Excellency the Vice President of the Republic tells us he has sacrificed for the Party as a star witness in the election petition of 2012-13 and should consequently be rewarded with the Presidency. Only one of three petitioners and the campaign manager could logically have been witnesses by virtue of their lead role in the campaign. Amongst the four, the duty and responsibility fell to the VP.

It could not have been voluntary. Any other person would have had to be asked specifically for reasons of expertise or otherwise. Nobody else was asked because the duty fell to the core petitioners. Subsequently, though the case failed, the then star witness has become VP for two terms. Now the Party is being blackmailed that its life started with the election petition and that only the presidency would do as a reward. In effect, the Vice Presidency is being devalued to nothing.

The supreme sacrifices came long before the VP became a member in 2008. That was when true believers invested their freedoms, lives, reputations and resources in the face of a fearful regime, to birth and nurture the New Patriotic Party. Alan was there, availing his private offices for dangerous Party activities and driving forward a resource agenda. In 1994, he sacrificed the opportunity to run, and has been second in 2007, 2011 and 2014. His concession to President Akufo-Addo in 2007 is widely regarded as having kept the Party united to confront the future together.

His sacrifices notwithstanding, Alan is prepared to compete for the Presidency, compared to singing entitlement by court appearance. Indeed, many within and outside the Party believe its Alans’ time, “Aduru Wo So”, but Alan personally insists on merit beyond slogan.

So on the three indices common to both campaigns, it is obvious Alan is way ahead. Aduru Wo So, Together, We Will Win and Ghana will rise again.