Speech By Nduom

STATEMENT DELIVERED BY DR. PAPA KWESI NDUOM, MP AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF THE CONVENTION PEOPLE’S PARTY (CPP) AT A PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MEDIA PRACTITIONERS IN THE CENTRAL REGION ON AUGUST 9, 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen the Media:

Thank you for coming to today’s media briefing. I want to make it very clear from the beginning that the Convention People’s Party (CPP) is preparing itself to win a majority of Parliamentary Seats and Presidential votes in the Central Region in the December 7, 2008 elections. Our mission starts today in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) constituency. We will outdoor our card-carrying foot-soldiers, our executives from all the polling stations in the constituency today. We will also launch a general membership drive.

We have elected several competitive, popular parliamentary candidates in the region who are going to win and capture the Central Region for the CPP. For example, in KEEA we have Mr. J. B. Eshun, in Hemang Lower Denkyira, we have Mr. Osei Hyiamang and in Upper Denkyira West, we have Mr. YawAsamoah, in Upper Denkyira East, in Twifo Ati Morkwa, Agyei Boafo, Dr. Maxwell Aidoo, in Cape Coast, Mr. Kweku Saigoe, in Gomoa West, Mr. Augustus Essiam, in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, Mrs. Comfort Wilson Aggrey, etc.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I wish to congratulate the army of First Time Voters who have rushed to registration stations all over the country to register to vote in this year’s elections. We are happy that many of them have also registered with the CPP to become our members.

However, I want to condemn the acts of indiscipline that have been experienced during the registration process. Particularly, I want to condemn the overly-aggressive posture of the NDC and the NPP that have fueled conflict and caused injury and discontent. They should know that politics is a contest of ideas and solutions not of might and muscle. They have encouraged minors to register and supported their people cause the people to doubt the credibility of the Electoral Commission.

I call on Prof. Mills and Mr. Akuffo-Addo to call their people to order and ask them publicly to discourage minors from registering. They should ask their people to act in a manner that will bring peace and credibility to the 2008 elections. I am telling my CPP people to continue to respect our electoral laws, discourage minors from registering, act peacefully and protect the integrity of the Electoral Commission.

The CPP believes in the credibility of the Electoral Commission. We wish to advice the Commission to consider the numbers of people who want to register to vote. I have visited polling stations in the Central and Ashanti Regions and I must say that it will be useful if an extra day or two are added to the registration period. This will allow everyone eligible to register to do so and exercise their franchise this year. Hopefully after this election, we should be able to do continuous registration as people turn 18 particularly now that the National Identification System has become a reality.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I also wish to confirm my opposition to the sale of Ghana Telecom. It is a bad deal, it is against the Ghanaian interest and we must not do it. I wish to urge my colleague members of parliament not to approve the transaction. If they do so, I urge the President to resist the temptation and not sign the deal. To Vodafone, I say, “Buyer Beware”. I did not oppose the sale of government’s shares in GOIL or SIC. These two transactions were in interest of the country, were well thought out and maintained Ghanaian management while giving opportunity for Ghanaians to acquire ownership. I oppose the sale of Ghana Telecom and the Agricultural Development Bank because it will not help Ghana. Our Party, the CPP really believes in Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I wish to share with you some of what I presented to the Ghana National Association of Teachers in Kumasi two days ago:

We aim to create a just and disciplined society with a passion for excellence and the ability to move from the Third World with all its social injustices to the First World with opportunities for every boy and girl to be the best they want to be no matter where they come from in the country. We will ensure that we act differently from what we have done since independence. The key ingredient we are offering is a leadership that will work with a sense of urgency to do what needs to be done quickly and very well.

Education has proven to be an equalizing factor throughout the world. Developed countries have used education as a means of accelerating economic and social growth. I will put quality education for all high on my agenda to enable us to meet the demands of the global economy. I will use education, particularly technical-skill-based, to encourage the youth to take their place as disciplined and hard working citizens.

Public schools from the North, to the South, East to West will be equipped in a standard, high quality manner, to provide opportunity for all of our children to reach their fullest potential. We will use a standard design for school compounds - from kindergarten to Senior High School – classroom, toilet facilities, science and computer laboratories, kitchen and dining facilities, playgrounds and sports facilities. Sports administration will become better organized at the local, regional and national levels to ensure that our young men and women have a good way of expressing themselves. This way they will also gain confidence, discipline and strength that comes from competition.

An important component of our program is that we aim to build houses for teachers throughout the country. This will be accompanied by a facility that will allow teachers to own their own houses through low interest loans made available by government with facilitation by financial institutions. In addition, government will support financial institutions to provide low interest loans for household goods and information technology products to improve their quality of life and bring them into the modern age. I will revive the study leave program to ensure that many teachers are able to further their education, renew their knowledge and acquire new skills. At the same time, we will work with the teachers’ representatives to ensure that those who benefit from study leave also serve a minimum number of years as teachers before leaving the Ghana Education Service.

Teachers deserve a better life on this earth.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The election in 2008 is not about me. Nor is it about my competitors in the race to become the next President of the Republic of Ghana. It is about whether Ghana will continue to be a mediocre country or not. It is about whether Ghana will become a country that gives to its people on the basis of merit or not. It is about whether we will ensure the best people get the right jobs or not. It is about the future of this country and the prosperity of its people.

That is why I keep asking Ghanaians to assess those of us who want to be your President, compare us and judge us by the content of our vision and our character. I also want to continue my call on the people of this country to challenge us the candidates to show what we have done in our private lives and those of us who have had the opportunity to be in government what specifically we have accomplished that should give Ghanaians the hope that if we they vote for us, we will deliver a better Ghana than exists today. The campaign should not just be about the noise, the songs, the dances and which party can bus a huge crowd to rallies. We must show that we are ready to administer the affairs of the country from day one when we assume office as the next President of the Republic of Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The CPP is the only political party in Ghana that is preaching change. We want to strengthen the legislature, Parliament so that we have an effective system of checks and balances and get better laws. We want Ghanaians to vote for their local Chief Executives – district, municipal and metropolitan so that we accelerate development. We want those who have invested their money here in Ghana to have a market to sell their goods and services and create more jobs. Ghanaians want change and it is the CPP that will provide it.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

What you hear in recent times is the comparison of the NDC and the NPP records in government. But it is important that you know the truth. The CPP administration led by the Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah remains the best Ghana has experienced since independence. Examine the record. The CPP administration left power adequate for domestic and industrial use – that is why Valco in Tema could work and we still exported power to our neighbouring countries. Today, we import power and Valco is shut down. The CPP administration left a railways system that was working – you could even travel on a sleeper rail car at night comfortably from Sekondi to Kumasi. Today, the railway system is in crisis. The workers are fighting management and the assets of the company are in disarray. The CPP administration left a Black Star shipping line that was working and made Ghanaians overseas proud to see the Ghana flag proudly displayed at ports including Amsterdam, Chicago and New York. That shipping line is no more. The CPP administration left a Ghana Airways that was working. Ghana Airways has been allowed to go bankrupt and its assets sold. The CPP administration left over 50 enterprises that were working and providing jobs to Ghanaians – we produced corned beef, matches, car tyres, glass, sugar, canned tomatoes, radio, jute bags, shoes, etc. Today, most of those companies have been allowed to rot while the people are unemployed. The CPP administration left a united country where ethnic origin was second to being Ghanaian. Today, ethnic battles continue in many parts of the country including Bawku. The CPP administration left high quality education. Today, many employers complain about the amount of re-training they have to do to equip their new employers with basic skills. The CPP administration left a serious agenda to bridge the development gap between the north and the south. Today, the north-south gap is widening and the children of the north keep pouring into our cities down south for non-existent opportunities and into a life of exploitation as kayayei, etc. Today, the financial position of government is so bad with increasingly higher inflation, higher cost of borrowing, a currency facing difficulties and high government debts to suppliers and contractors. This is what has made the NPP administration so desperate that it wants to sell everything it can get its hands on, including Ghana Telecom.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I want to ask the NDC to desist from using our election slogan, “Yeresesamu!” If they do not have imagination and original ideas, they should drop out of the race. Stealing what others have sat for a long time to think through, research and outdoor should not be encouraged by the people of Ghana. And to the NPP, and Mr. Akuffo-Addo, they should know that “Forward Ever, Backward Never” is a longstanding idea of the CPP. They should also go back to the drawing board and come up with something original than “We are moving forward”.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This is why all over the country, the people listen to the message of “Edwumawura” and respond with “Yeresesamu!”.

The Holy Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to pluck up that which is planted…..; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.” My Brothers and Sisters, this is the season for the re-birth of the Convention People’s Party. This is the time for the CPP to come to power once again, and this is the time for the “Youth President”, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom.

God Bless Our Homeland Ghana, where collectively, we will build a country of free and prosperous people.

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Yeresesamu