PRESS CONFERENCE of the PATRIOTIC FUTURE... The New Patriotic Party is a democratic party built on the principles of choice, competition, fairness and equity, and must be allowed at all times to go through a process of election that is competitive. The recent brouhaha that has emanated from the discussions of the proposal by the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party is a great concern to us. A competitively organized electoral process in our view will bring out the best talents that will drive the party’s victory agenda forward. The proposal before the National Executive Committee (NEC) which was apparently authored by Chairman Jake Obetsebi Lamptey clearly goes against the New Patriotic Party’s Constitution. Reference to articles 6 and 9 clearly state that elected officers shall have a mandate of 4 years and the only body with the authorization to change this constitutional provision is the National Delegates Conference. The real challenges facing our great party must be addressed using sustainable strategies devoid of self-centered and parochial objectives. As a group, we wish to find answers to these mind boggling questions; What was the involvement of the Polling Station Executives in the last campaign who today, Jake believes were the cause of our 2012 electoral defeat? Where is the Polling Agents’ allowance? As we speak, many of our polling agents have not received their responsibility allowance in the last election. These same Polling Station Executives have been inflicted and denigrated with more pain by accusing them of being responsible for our defeat in the 2012 elections. The situation is bad and clearly exposes our current leadership as insensitive and a clear case of losing touch with the grassroots of the party. What is the objective behind this proposal? The proposal is egocentric and portrays our party leadership as self-seeking individuals whose main agenda is inimical to the unity and progress of our dear party. We are calling on all party faithfuls to reject this ill-intent proposal and maintain the BOTTOM UP APPROACH OF SELECTING LEADERS. We are tired of the machinations by Jake and Sir John, and we are by this statement sending a strong warning to them to put a STOP to their devilish acts that have the sole aim of sinking this great party further into opposition. We lost the 2012 elections simply because of selfish and sluggish leadership of Jake and Sir John. In our humble opinion, fellow- following and accountability are very critical to political party organization, and we hereby demand account on the following grounds; The Ghc16, 000.00 paid by each parliamentary candidate aspirants. Revenue from the dues, text messages and the strong membership drive (Printing of Cards). The campaign funds raised by the party during the electioneering campaign that were meant for polling station organization. We of the Patriotic Future of NPP believe that, the focus of the outgoing National Party Executives should be on identifying the reasons why we lost the 2008 election only by about 38,000 votes but 2012 election by more than 325,000 votes indicating a whopping 750%. The incompetence of the National Chairman and the General Secretary is amplified in the paragraph 18 of Mr. Jake Obestebi Lamptey’s proposal which states that “After the primaries, the services of talented people who ran on a losing slate are denied to the party. All hands on deck remain a dream as some of such people refuse to come forward and others are refused space in the inner circle of the campaign.” This admission by Jake Obetesi Lamptey should inform all and sundry that, he has failed the party and must give way to new and progressive leadership. We demand the following from the National Executive Committee and others: The internal party elections from Polling Station, Constituency, Region and National officers MUST follow the constitutional provisions of the party and be finalized by April 2014; There should be consensus building and broader consultations among all party stakeholders on critical proposals as this one; An audit of the outgoing National [truncated by WhatsApp] An audit of the outgoing National Officers by a neutral body set up by a yet to be elected National Executive Committee; This proposal as authored by Jake has started creating tension and division among the rank and file of the party. We therefore call on National Council of Elders, National Council of Patrons and H.E President Kufuor to halt further discussions on the proposal at any forum of the party in order to promote greater unity. We are using this opportunity to call on all Executives and members of the party to rise up and protect our great tradition. As part of our commitment to our beloved party, the members of this group will use all means possible to stop the implementation of this unconstitutional proposal. NPP must be built around the ideology of free enterprise and prosperity for all but not around individuals. The current proposals if made to stand will mean that we will have national executive officers for life and MPs for life. How sad that the party that is touted for its democratic credentials should now be seen wearing the cloak of dictatorship. Now is the time for all well- meaning members of the party, to stand up and be counted. No longer should they keep quite and allow a minority to dictate to the course of the party. The party belongs to all members and the views of its members must be made to count. Not just that of a few who only led us to defeat in the past. Long live New Patriotic Party! Long live Ghana! God bless us all.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 20:02:24 +0000
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