CPP cautions Nduom, Blay

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has cautioned Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom and Freddie Blay to “uphold the highest sense of discipline” in the pronouncements regarding the party’s association with the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“These pronouncements from high ranking members of the party such as Dr Nduom and Freddie Blay are acts of indiscipline and irresponsibility,” remarked Dr Nii Noi Dowuona, general secretary of the CPP.

Dr Dowuona, who was reacting to questions about assertions made by Dr Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Integration and Blay, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament that the CPP would support the ruling NPP government in the 2004 presidential elections, noted that the party would do everything possible to stop such manner of high-profile indiscipline being exhibited by the two high ranking members of the party.

It is recalled that Blay, also a member of the Parliamentary Action Group (PAG) recently pledged the group’s unfettering support for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the forthcoming 2004 presidential elections.

Blay was also quoted as saying that his group, the PAG, being “motivated purely by the greater need to strengthen democracy in the country would defy the CPP and go along with the NPP if the CPP refused to see wisdom in an electoral pact with the ruling party come 2004.

According to Dr Dowuona, the CPP was going to ensure that any party member in any position, whether within or outside the party, showed mutual respect, discipline and responsibility to other members because none was above the party’s rules and regulations laid down by the CPP’s governing constitution.

“We are equal because we are not flouting our positions, decrees, wealth, our stature or might; we say we subscribe to the ideas of Nkrumah and that is why we are members of the CPP.” “If you want to belong to it, there are rules which every member, status notwithstanding, must adhere to,” he said.

The general secretary stressed the CPP’s independence of the ruling NPP and entirely dissociated the party from President Kufuor’s administration saying that “the CPP is not in alliance with the NPP.”

Reacting to whether Dr Nduom and Blay’s inseparable affinity to the NPP government had not developed consequent chasms within the CPP, Dr Dowuona responded thus: “People are entitled to device different meaning from their (Nduom and Blay’s) role in the NPP government but the two do not in anyway represent CPP in Kufuor’s administration.

The party is well focused as an independent political party and, therefore, two people from the CPP serving in the NPP government will not determine the fate or future direction of the party,” he emphasised. He contended that the CPP was the greatest potential party in the country despite its current misfortunes. “We may have some reverse in our fortunes for now but that does not mean we are not capable of turning the scale around to our advantage.”

With regard to the constitutionality of the Parliamentary Action Group, he retorted that the Central Committee (National Executive Committee) and even the leaders or the group had concurred that it was not a constitutionally recognised body since the party’s constitution made no provision for the setting up of such an entity.

Throwing more light on the on-going unity talks among the three Nkrumaist parties together with their prominent ally, the National Reform Party (NRP), he said should the unity pact be eventually ratified with the NRP, they would be heading for congress to elect a flagbearer by the middle of next year.