NPP is not a “politically conservative party” – Kofi Jumah

Over twenty years after the establishment of the biggest opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), leading members still seem to disagree on the main principles and ideals of the party.

There are those who believe the NPP is deviating from its Conservative ideals, which makes it very difficult to differentiate it from political parties of social democratic ideologies.

But the former Member of Parliament for the Asokwa Constituency has stated that there has never been “anything conservative about the NPP”.

According to him, the activities and actions of the founding fathers coupled with the party’s Constitution and policies and programs that were pursued by the erstwhile Kufuor administration does not depict a party that is conservative.

“…if you look at the writings of JB Danquah, his speeches; if you look at the writings, his speeches and the activities and actions of the Dr. Busia government, and when you zero it down to the NPP Constitution and the eight years of President Kufuor, his activities, actions and speeches, and now you listen to the utterances of Akufo-Addo and a close look at all the NPP manifestos, there is absolutely nothing conservative about the NPP,” Hon. Kofi Jumah argued on NEAT FM.

In his view, to term the biggest opposition party as socially conservative, is acceptable; but the party cannot be called a politically conservative party because it not so.

Hon. Jumah made these comments during a telephone interview with Adakabre Frimpong Manso on the topical issue on what direction the NPP should take, with respect to ideology.

His submission was in reaction to a call by Dr. Winfred Richard Anane, the Member of Parliament for Nhyaeso, for the party to turn to the ideals of conservatism because there seem not to be a difference between the NPP and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), who are liberals.

But Kofi Jumah, who is popularly known as Kofi Ghana, averred that it is for a fact that the NPP is not a conservative party that is why Dr. Kofi Abrafa Busia, who was the Prime Minister of Ghana between 1969 to 1972, and one of the founding fathers of the NPP, christened his philosophy in government as a “welfare state. Each person would be his brother’s keeper. No conservative anywhere would talk like that”.