Yaw Gyan Predicts 2012 Electoral Battle
The National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Yaw Boateng Gyan, has assured supporters of the party that the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which is bent on reclaiming political power in the 2012 elections, will be no match for the ruling party at the polls. But according to him, the victory of the NDC in 2012 can only be anchored on unity within its ranks.
Mr. Boateng Gyan averred that the on-going internal wangling among members could cause the party a great deal in the coming elections, should they fail to bury their differences and forge ahead in unity.
The NDC National Organizer was speaking in an exclusive interview with The Catalyst at the party’s headquarters in Accra on Monday, September 20. According to him, failure of the party to come together would amount to, as he put it, “digging our own grave.”
He mentioned that if care is not taken, the little bickering within the party can degenerate, and that would give the opposition NPP the opportunity to wrestle power from the NDC using their media hirelings to concoct stories to suit their sinister agenda.
Mr. Yaw Boateng Gyan also used the encounter to admonish members and sympathizers of the NDC to come together and help President John Evans Atta Mills and the government to work and achieve the party’s good vision for the country. To him, “the success or otherwise of the Mills-led administration should be a shared concern, hence the need for all hands on deck in making sure that the Mills’ government succeeds and goes for a second term.’’
He also told the Paper that, in as much as people within the party would have the ambition to become president, there is the need for every Tom, Dick and Harry within the party to rally behind President Mills to succeed in his first and second terms as president.
According to him, the dreams of those, within the party, with presidential ambition would be shattered should President Mills and his government fail to deliver the Better Ghana promised the people of this country.
“Those who think that the failure of President Mills will propel whoever in the party to contest and become the president are mistaken,” he said, adding that, “The failure of President Mills will affect whoever will stand as president on the ticket of the party, so it will be important for us all to help this government succeed, for a more brighter future for others.”
According to the NDC National Organiser, the successes chalked so far by the Mills’ government cannot be undervalued and that with time the people of Ghana will see the difference in the leadership of the current government and that of the erstwhile NPP.
The NDC national organizer also commented on a recent report in the Chronicle attributed to a vice chairperson of the NDC and a Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, which was denied by her. The Chronicle in a report captioned “Konadu Plays Mills’ Secret Tape” claimed that she said President Mills’ ‘Better Ghana Agenda’ was a creation of her husband, former President Jerry john Rawlings. The story was however denied by the former first lady who raised issues with the lack of attempt on the part of the NDC leadership to seek clarification from her to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the story. She said her statement was misconstrued.
Mr. Yaw Boateng Gyan said he believed the former first lady’s comment was blown out of proportion and that the NDC, as a political party, should be happy that it has been reminded of its past.
Although he indicated that he had never heard of the Better Ghana Agenda until 2008, he noted that, if indeed it was true that the concept was conceived by the PNDC, it has probably been brought to the public domain in 2008, where a formal declaration of the Better Ghana Agenda was made and that agenda is being pursued. He said, “It may be that in December 1981, the Better Ghana Agenda was impregnated, but it became a full grown document in 2008.”
“I think her statement was not ill-motivated and as a matter of fact, we should even be happy that we are being reminded of our past. It is also important for us as a party to know our root and see the foundation laid, which we have to follow,” he said.
He noted that the party deemed it unnecessary to invite the former first lady to answer questions in relation to her comment because it believed her comment was being misrepresented by a section of the media who wanted to make political capital out of it.
The NDC organizer also held the view that it is a very good thing for the party to follow the ideology of former President Rawlings and the PNDC, out of which the NDC and for that matter, the Mill’s government emerged.
