PPP to collaborate with Akufo-Addo government

The Progressive People’s Party says it will collaborate positively as an opposition, with the incoming Akufo-Addo government to ensure the implementation of good ideas and solutions to Ghana’s problems.

It however warned it would be critical of the government where necessary, the party said in a post-election statement signed by its founder and presidential candidate, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom.

“And to the next administration, we will offer positive opposition – collaboration to implement good ideas and solutions; and constructive criticism when weakness or failure is evident.

In every way, we will be relentless campaigners to encourage the in-coming administration to deliver on its many promises,” it said. Notwithstanding its poor performance in the elections, the party said it has come to stay, noting it will consolidate and get stronger to become a better competitor in Ghana’s politics.

“We will go to every community that welcomes us and work with them to bring improvement in any way that we can through our private efforts; especially in the areas of preventable diseases, education and job creation,” it said.

Read the full statement below

Dear Progressives,

We tried our best, we fought for change, with enthusiasm, but the wind of change did not blow our way. We did not win the votes we wanted.

Neither did we get the Parliamentary Seats we worked so hard for. We won more Presidential and Parliamentary votes on December 7th than we did in 2012. But we did not win enough votes to be declared winners.

Please accept my sincere thanks to each and everyone of you for the efforts you made. I am proud of you. Our party has shown Ghanaians that we are a disciplined, respectful political party with great ideas and solutions for our nation’s many problems.

We remain Ghana’s alternative to the political establishment. I am confident that Ghanaians will reward the PPP with victory in the future. We will stay on the side of the Ghanaian people and be a strong advocate for a greater and stronger Ghana over the next four years.

We will live the words written in our Policy Document and demonstrate our readiness for the opportunity “… to implement an efficient Agenda for Accelerated Change that is built on Incorruptible Leadership, Education, Healthcare and Jobs.” We will continue to be advocates for our unique non-negotiable policies because without them, the standard of living of our people, our quality of life and development will not improve significantly.

These policies include:

Constitutional Reforms & Good Governance: reform our constitution to strengthen parliament, elect district, municipal and metropolitan chief executives; create a strong independent public prosecutor to root out government corruption; and make Parliament truly independent by ensuring that a Member of Parliament cannot serve as a Minister of State at the same time. Work with Parliament to pass the Right to Information Bill to bring transparency and encourage accountability in government.

Public Sector Reforms: reform state institutions, make government efficient and raise revenue to be able to pay public servants well to motivate them to facilitate the work of the private sector and Ghanaian society in general.

Preventable Diseases: ensure a cleaner environment free from preventable diseases like malaria, cholera, HIV- AIDS, monococal meningitis and guinea worm. Compulsory & Universal Education: provide Quality Education for Every Ghanaian Child. Standardize school facilities from kindergarten to Senior High, with libraries, toilets, classrooms, kitchen, housing for teachers, playground, etc.; and Ensure Free and Compulsory education in public schools from Kindergarten to Senior (including ICT training). Significantly increase vocational training so that all school leavers gain employable skills.

Agriculture & Food Security: provide a market to sustain our farmers and fishermen. We will use the state’s purchasing power to provide the assurance that the labor of our farmers and fishermen will not be in vain. Construct good roads that link farms to market centres to ensure that our farmers are able to transport their produce for sale easily, as one way of reducing poverty. Address post harvest losses by reviewing specific crops and potential for processing, value addition, effective storage schemes etc.

Financing Energy: implement solutions with a sense of urgency to meet domestic needs for industry and residential use. To enable us achieve this objective, we will provide tax incentives to enable development of alternative sources of fuel and power – bio fuels and solar. Aim to ensure that the contribution from renewable sources of energy reaches in a decade, a minimum of 10% of what we need. Provide adequate funding to deal with generation, transmission and distribution challenges.

Economic Infrastructure: To accelerate job creation nationally, build an inter-region highway with the same high quality throughout the country to open up the country for investment and development.

In the same way, implement with a sense of urgency plans to extend railways to the four corners of the country to facilitate the movement of goods and people. Engage in a comprehensive housing programme throughout the country and promote the use of clay and other natural resources to boost employment prospects.

Sports: a comprehensive sports programme to instill discipline and promote better health. The comprehensive sports programme will ensure that with government support, we begin to develop future world and Olympic champions.

Domestic Enterprise Development: improve Ghana’s business climate to enable investment in job creation so that our people will stay at home to help develop the country and its economy. We will be relentless in providing support to Ghanaian industry and our farmers and fishermen using low interest loans, technical assistance, tax incentives and priority access to the Ghanaian market.

Women’s Enterprise Development: to train, encourage and promote the growth and development of women entrepreneurs in the country. This will include technical assistance, low interest loans and the setting aside of portions of government contracts to enterprises founded and managed by women.

Technology: ensure application of technology to enable the implementation of national objectives in areas such as national identification, drivers licensing, passports, criminal information systems; provide support to ICT entrepreneurs to make Ghana a hub for technology product development and innovation.

Our National Committee has met since the elections ended and has charged the National Executives to come up with a program to strengthen our foundation and our support base. We will hold a national convention early next year. We will provide training and education to our dedicated members for them to be able to understand how our policies will improve the lives of our people; so that they can preach the PPP gospel effectively.

We have come to stay. We will consolidate, get stronger and become a better competitor. We will go to every community that welcomes us and work with them to bring improvement in any way that we can through our private efforts; especially in the areas of preventable diseases, education and job creation.

And to the next administration, we will offer positive opposition – collaboration to implement good ideas and solutions; and constructive criticism when weakness or failure is evident. In every way, we will be relentless campaigners to encourage the in-coming administration to deliver on its many promises.

We will stay wide Awake!

Thank you and God bless you!

Papa Kwesi Nduom