Why NPP must be cautious

As members of the governing New Patriotic Party gather, from today to Sunday, at the historic town of Cape Coast for its National Delegates’ Conference, all ears are waiting to hear the kind of sweeping changes it will make to its constitution, as a way of putting the party on a more solid footing to meet the future aspirations of its members and the nation as a whole.

As members of the governing New Patriotic Party gather, from today to Sunday, at the historic town of Cape Coast for its National Delegates’ Conference, all ears are waiting to hear the kind of sweeping changes it will make to its constitution, as a way of putting the party on a more solid footing to meet the future aspirations of its members and the nation as a whole.

The fact cannot be gainsaid that the NPP has been the trail-blazer when it comes to putting proper structures in place to facilitate effective and smooth party organization.

What the party does, or what happens to it, appears to be of much interest to majority of Ghanaians in view of the fact that many believe a government of the NPP guarantees more development for the country than the current main opposition National Democratic Congress.

The party’s leadership believes this year’s Conference, under the theme "NPP, delivering on our promises; our roots, our strength, our future", is historic because it coincides with the 70th anniversary of the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention, the first political party to be formed in the country, which is the ‘grandfather’ of the NPP.

"The choice of this theme is to afford us an opportunity to reflect on the very core values underpinning the formation of the NPP and assess the extent to which the party has remained focused on these founding principles with the view to learning relevant lessons to serve as a guide for the future," explains Acting General Secretary John Boadu.

We at the Daily Statesman believe the major challenge to the party at the moment is how to ensure effective, mutually beneficial and respectful relationship between the Akufo-Addo-led government and the party.

No one can rule out the fact that agitations keep building among the party’s rank and file who feel their toil to bring the party back into power, after ‘suffering’ in opposition for the past eight years, appear not to be a matter of concern to certain individuals who are now privileged to be occupying important positions in the government. The party must, therefore, come out with effective measures to address this concern as quickly as possible before it escalates into intolerable heights.

Also, the party cannot lose sight of the fact that there are still many people who are desirous of using their current positions in the Akufo-Addo government to advance their cherished presidential ambitions. How the party ensures that such people do not work in ways that do not undermine the collective interest of the NPP government and party must therefore be an issue of much concern.

While the party must not put any impediment in the way of any member seeking to pursue a presidential interest, it must, however, make it clear to such people that the most important task before the party now is how to deliver on its campaign promises to the electorate.

All NPP members with genuine intentions, who now find themselves in government at whatever level, must know that the performance of the Akufo-Addo-led government will have far-reaching implications for future of the party.

It is therefore important for them to be always guided by a burning desire to work hard to ensure that the government chalks appreciable and conspicuous success that will convince the electorate to conclude that they made the right decision in bringing the government into being.

More importantly, we want to caution the party against any rush to effect constitutional changes that will come back to haunt it. For instance, we do not see any proper political sense in the proposal to make all deputy executive positions elective. The current arrangement of making it possible for appointments to be made for regional or ethnic balancing, or to get officers with certain expertise on board, we believe, MUST remain.

While wishing the party the best of luck, it is our fervent belief that it will come out of this Conference stronger than before and, more importantly, be better positioned to deliver to meet the needs and aspirations its members and Ghanaians as a whole.