Nduom tells why he can run Ghana Ltd.

A FLAGBEARER aspirant of the Convention People?s Party (CPP), Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, says the 2008 elections will be fought on competence, ability and vision of the person gunning to lead the country, and not on party lines, since it takes a person to govern and rule Ghana and administer the country properly.

He believes the emphasis in choosing a President for the nation, this time round, will be on past achievements of the person, character and capabilities if given the opportunity.

?It is no more Kufuor or Rawlings. NDC has elected relatively a new candidate in the person of Prof. Atta Mills and definitely the NPP will parade a new person and what I can do when given a problem to solve as compared to what they can do will be used to decide the 2008 elections. I can say, given a problem, I can solve and solve it quickly, and this has been proven in my public and private life,? Dr. Nduom stated in an interview after addressing his party supporters in Kumasi.

According to him, for the past six and half years he was a member of President Kufuor administration, he has niched for himself a reputation including being labeled as ?Mr. fix-it? due to his aggressive and relentless approach to solving problems, which is the result of working to dislocate the status quo.. in order to achieve quantum results.

?I can say where there had been problems, I was put there to solve them and so I am known in this government (NPP) as someone who can solve problems?, the CPP flagbearer aspirant added.

Dr. Nduom who considers himself a team builder and a unifier both in business and politics stated that when the country had problems in many areas, including that of Kaiser over the Volta Aluminum Company Limited (VALCO), he was sent to Washington to make sure solutions were found to them. He also credited himself as the leader of the team that designed a programme to obtain $547 from the USA?s Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) for Ghana.

He said what Ghanaians should look out for in the impending 2008 general elections is a person who can solve Ghana?s principle problem ? poverty ? and do it quickly.

?We know what needs to be done in Ghana. What we need is someone who can prove he can solve the problem with some sense of urgency and I believe, I am that person?, he pointed out.

According to him, he will put the Ghanaian at the centre of opportunity in the private and public sectors in Ghana because it is the job of government to prepare its people and give them the necessary opportunities to overcome inexperience and inadequate capital.

The CPP presidential hopeful hoped to design and implement a consistent and aggressive policy to build industries owned by Ghanaians throughout the country. This is because no country has really developed and prospered significantly on the backs of exporting raw materials to feed its factories.

?Domestic industries that export products are what we need to break out of poverty because they provide sustainable jobs and living wages and salaries?, he noted. Nduom further stated that the nation was tired of divisive politics and that is why he believed in government of inclusion using the best people, a soft heart to create a just and caring society and a great sense of urgency to implement solutions so that Ghanaians could gain the benefit. Emphasizing that a non-partisan approach to government is the only way to move Ghana out of the third world circle.

?My experience as a CPP man in an NPP administration has given me the strength and the ability to reach out to other political party members to find common ground in solving national issues?, he stated.He promised to work towards constitutional amendments for the Ministry of Justice to be separated from the Office of the Attorney General and also ensure the purity of the Legislative Assembly.

Again, Dr. Nduom said he would use less than 40 Ministries to administer his government when given the opportunity to become the Chief Executive Officer of the land after 2008 elections.

Earlier on, the CPP presidential hopeful had assured the CPP members in the Ashanti Region that he was ready to ensure the rejuvenation of the party?s structures across the country if given the nod to lead in the 2008 election. According him, the keen contest between himself and other CPP flagbearer aspirants such as Prof. Agyemang Badu-Akosah, Mr. Bright Aquatey and others is an ample testimony that Dr. Nkrumah?s party equally has the men to run this country as compared to other political parties. Meanwhile the presidential aspirant was expected to pick up his form yesterday at the national secretariat of the party (CPP).