PNP receives provisional registration certificate, advocates communitarianism

The People's National Party (PNP) has received a provisional certificate of registration as a political party from the Electoral Commission.

The PNP introduces a new political ideology centered on building Ghana's democracy on the foundation of rich Ghanaian family and community values.

The PNP has developed its political ideology within the framework of communitarianism.

According to the party, communitarian principles prioritize family and community issues in political and public policy discourse.

The party emphasized that empowering families and improving community conditions will lead to substantial economic growth.

In a statement, the PNP rejected the notion that Ghana can develop by empowering only a select minority of well-connected citizens through state sponsorship and assistance. Additionally, the party opposes the idea that creating a favorable environment for foreign investment, while neglecting local businesses, is the path to development.

Instead, the PNP believes that Ghana's economy can thrive by empowering Ghanaian families to hold significant stakes in the economy through family businesses and partnerships.

The party's statement underscored its commitment to fostering economic growth by strengthening the role of families and communities in the nation's economic landscape.

Read details of the statement below:

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE RECEIPT OF PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION

Thank you for being here today.

We are delighted to have you at this historic press conference. Today marks a pivotal moment in our nation’s history. The People's National Party (PNP) has received a provisional certificate from the Electoral Commission, and we stand before you, not with empty promises, but with a commitment to usher in a new era of integrity, hard work, and genuine progress.

The PNP stands on a new political ideology that seeks to build our democracy on the rich Ghanaian family and community values. As Ghanaians, we are born into families and we live in communities. These two institutions are very dear to us and are central to our cultural and social existence. As a people, work hard on a daily basis to make a living not necessarily for our personal benefits but to provide basic needs for our families, such as food, clothing, and shelter.

However, it is sad to note that we hardly develop deliberate policies to support families and communities. Almost all our policies as a country have not directly placed the family and community at the center. They are always recognized as implied beneficiaries, and this situation must change. Regardless of the fact that it is socially and culturally unacceptable to neglect one’s family and community, the two dominant parties in Ghana today have not adequately prioritized Ghanaian families and communities as direct targets of public policy.

The PNP has come to fill this gap in our political and public policy space. As a party, we have developed our political ideology in the context of communitarianism. Communitarian principles bring family and community issues to the center of political and public policy.

We believe that as families are empowered and conditions in our communities improve, the economy will grow in leaps and bounds. We reject the notion that Ghana can develop on the basis of empowering a few minorities of well-connected citizens with capital through state sponsorship and assistance.

We also reject the notion that Ghana can develop only when we create a favorable environment for foreign investment while local businesses are left to their own fate. We believe that we can grow our economy if we empower Ghanaian families to hold major stakes in the economy through family businesses and partnerships.

We can grow our economy if we commit ourselves to building improved infrastructure in our communities, such as efficient transportation and communication networks to connect all communities in the country so as to expand market opportunities.

Our nation is plagued by systemic failures in the public sector that a PNP government will be diagnosing in the subsequent days before coming out with a comprehensive treatment plan. We wish to place on record that the problems of the economy are emanating from the continuous neglect of families and communities in public policy, which have heightened their vulnerability. Unemployment, illiteracy, poverty, and homelessness, to mention but a few, are occasioned by the hindered stakeholding of families and communities in the public policy of resource allocation.

For instance, as families’ participation in the production sectors of the economy deteriorates, they become vulnerable to social ills. Conversely, when families have an empowered status in the production systems of the economy, they are well positioned to resolve the problem of unemployment and deprivation for their members. The PNP envisions a country where the government and the people work hand in hand. We believe that while politicians must create an enabling environment, it is up to each one of us to take initiative and drive progress. Our future prosperity depends on collective effort and responsibility.

The PNP is dedicated to bringing about real change that benefits all Ghanaians. We believe that by controlling prices, ensuring fair economic practices, and fostering accountability, we can build a more equitable and prosperous nation. Under successive administrations, Ghanaians have endured uncontrollable inflation and the adverse effects of a free market economy where businesses can raise prices at will.

This has resulted in widespread suffering and financial instability for countless families. It is evident that the current economic model has allowed businesses to form unions, not to enhance services or improve quality, but to arbitrarily increase prices. This unchecked behavior has led to a cycle of inflation that our citizens can no longer bear.

Under a PNP government, we will abolish the free market economy in its current form and introduce stringent price controls. We believe that essential goods and services must be affordable and accessible to all Ghanaians. Our approach will ensure that prices are regulated in a manner that balances the needs of businesses and the welfare of consumers. By implementing these price controls, we aim to stabilize the economy, curb inflation, and protect our citizens from the predatory practices that have become all too common. We are committed to creating an economic environment where fairness prevails and where the primary focus is on the well-being of the people, not just profit margins.

Ghana’s multi-party democracy is growing with a dominance of two political ideologies shaping political discourses and policy formulation. These two dominant ideologies are Centre-Left liberal and Centre-Right property-owning political ideologies. The country’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, initially adopted the former while the latter was adopted by the Danquah-Busia tradition.

The communitarian political philosophy adopted by the PNP, however, departs from the two dominant ideologies and places the focus of public policy on family and community as a means to attain collective national development. In essence, it de-emphasizes the reliance on a strong state or private individuals as wheels for economic development. It posits that since families and communities are natural agents of development in Africa, political and public policy strategies should exert deliberate focus on them to drive the development of the country.

The Centre-Left and Centre-Right ideologies are borrowed concepts from Europe, and they cannot guarantee the political aspirations of Ghanaians. What the country needs is a political tradition that the people can naturally identify with to serve as the rallying point for development, and the PNP’s communitarian ideology fills this gap.

The PNP is dedicated to bringing about real change that benefits all Ghanaians. We believe that by controlling prices, ensuring fair economic practices, and fostering accountability, we can build a more equitable and prosperous nation. People’s National Party envision a society where the strength of our families and communities is the measure of our success. Thank you for your attention and support. Together, we will achieve a more just and balanced economy.