Mr Edmund Delle
CPP Chairman
Accra, Ghana.
Dear Mr. Chairman:
I am writing to you because I am convinced that the current CPP political strategy is not succeeding, and that CPP may soon seize to exist. At present it is looked upon and perceived as a pensioners club. Whilst some parties celebrate a record growth in their membership, the CPP is still talking about ancestors, Nkrumah this…. Krobo Edusei that. We need to wake up. Dr Nkrumah must be turning in his grave now.
I represent a new breed of socialists that believes that socialism is the best way to redistribute our national wealth.
Ghanaians are well aware that in the teeth of UGCC opposition CPP fought and brought us Independence. From the rubble of war for continental self rule, our first leader Dr Nkrumah spearheaded and founded the Organisation of African Unity. Among CPP’s developmental achievements counts the Akosombo Dam, the development of the Tema Harbour and the Tema Township including the construction of many factories, roads, telecommunication, and so on.
Today what has happened to the legacy of Dr. Nkrumah and the CPP administration? Rawlings and the NDC took away the cream of our party men and women and sold away the national assets that our Party built for the country. You may be wondering exactly what happened to Dr. Nkrumah factories. What did Rawlings do to them? Continental Hotel now Golden Tulip Hotel was sold to a partnership between the Libyans and Rawlings' cronies as the Ghana-Libyan Arab Holding Co Ltd. for $3,578,125. GHACEM was sold to SCANCEM of Norway for $3 million. GIHOC Abosso Glass Factory was sold to the Togolese Opposition Leader, Gilchrist Olympio. West African Mills and GIHOC Electronics were sold to Kofi Kludjeson, former President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI). Prestea and Tarkwa Goldfields were each sold for $3 million “The Statesman (October 23, 2002) . And as if to give us the finger and show the CPP the impunity with which he regards us, Rawlings virtually handed over Kwame Nkrumah's Nsawam Cannery to his beloved wife, Konadu-Agyeman Rawlings. Rawlings stole the CPP’s social justice creed and claimed a socialist leaning. He claimed he would re-start the industrialization programmes of the CPP administration and for that reason lured our illustrious members to his party. For all we know, Rawlings’ industrialization policy was centred on the opening of Gari Factories.
To us in this movement while we think we should celebrate Dr. Nkrumah’s achievements, we should keep a view of moving politics to the modern ground, our ground, the centre ground.
Across Ghana, across class, across political boundaries, people are yearning for a political party that once again will represent all of them. A party thatwil represent the aspiration of Ghanaians, which is to create a small income generating business, either through agriculture or retail business while at the same time having a government that aims at distributing wealth fairly and equalising opportunities for those who can not compete. Millions of people in Ghana now want a party that will speak for them not the millionaires. Workers want a trade union that will represent them collectively and make cases for them. Workers want a living wage not a minimum wage, pensioners are asking for decent retirement remuneration.
CPP should be the mainstream voice in politics today. CPP should be re-branded and aspire to be on the side of the vast majority...to speak out for them and against the entrenched interests that hold them back.
To parents wanting their children to be taught in classrooms that are not crumbling, to students with qualifications but no university places, The CPP should be able to say, the NDC are fake and the NPP have failed you, we are on your side, your ambitions are our ambitions.
To men and women who get up in the morning, and find their doors smashed in, again...the video gone, again...to the pensioners and women who fear to go out of their homes, CPP should be there to say the NDC distributed the guns and NPP have abused your trust to control them, we are on your side - your concerns are our concerns.
To the small businesses, pushed to the wall by greedy banks, employers burdened by government failure, to employees living in fear of redundancy...and above all to the men and women in their 40s, shamefully laid off at Juapong textiles, the thousands others insecure in their jobs in every part of Ghana... CPP should be able to say the NDC sold your assets to their members and NPP have forgotten you, but we will not – your anxieties are our anxieties.
CPP should be back as the Party of the majority in Ghanaian politics. Back to speak up for Ghana. Sadly the CPP of today is not, the good news is that there are some people like myself who still hold the view that a stitch in time saves nine, and therefore we want to bring to your immediate attention our immediate demands. I will also like to point out to you that your continuous stay as the Chairman of the CPP is doing a great disservice not only to the CPP but to the people of Ghana chiefly the vast majority of those who live in the hope that change can come to better their lives.
Our demands
• Negotiations or talks with all Nkrumahist (Socialist Parties) must conclude by April 26 2007.
• There should be a program of action to embark on a nationwide tour to double the number of youth members. This nationwide tour should be completed by March 31 2007.
• There should be a website for the party so as to be able to coordinate, communicate, exchange and strategise with every patriotic member.
• There should be a date and a venue by 3 April 2007 for our Congress.
• All tenancy agreement relating to our offices must be reviewed in consultation with this movement (NEW CPP) by or on 26 April 2007.
• The executives in the Accra office (CPP HQ) should wind up and democratically ready to render account of stewardship to the Interim Committee that will be appointed to start the re-branding exercise on 15 May 2007.
As we cannot run parallel offices and policies to achieve the same goal of liberation, this movement will advice that you cease your experimentation and leave the business of re-branding to us.
The New CPP welcomes people of all backgrounds as members of the great CPP party, we welcome new and progressive ideas, suggestions and contributions from well meaning Ghanaians and patriots.
I will set out my vision for our party New CPP and our country Ghana in my next publication. Will explain in detail the New CPP agenda.
What we are; where we stand; how we will govern. We will be very soon be going for congress, we will be meeting in a spirit of hope, hope that change can come.... hope that we can rid our country of this bunch of feckless incompetent people (NPP) ever let loose on the people of Ghana
Their broken promises
Their failed policies
Their discredited philosophy
And elect in its place, CPP Government for Ghana.