General News of Wednesday, 1 April 2009

Source: GNA

Samia Nkrumah calls on Nkrumahists to unite

Ho, April 1, GNA - Nkrumahists have been urged to unite and organise themselves under one strong political party reminiscent of Convention Peoples Party (CPP) of old.

Miss Samia Yaba Nkrumah, daughter of Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah who made the call said that was the only way the Party could be attractive to the electorate and become a formidable political force in the country again.

The sole CPP Member of Parliament for Jomoro, Miss Nkrumah was speaking at the launch of 60th anniversary of CPP and centenary celebrations of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah in Ho on Tuesday. She said Ghanaians who lived during the days of Dr Nkrumah, and those like her who had read and heard about Dr Nkrumah's vision and seen some evidence of his development projects, were yearning for a formidable political force to revive his vision and development projects for the country.

Miss Nkrumah said it was time all those who identified themselves with Dr Nkrumah, his ideas, vision and political philosophy buried their egos and personalities in order to collectively forge a strong Nkrumahist political front.

She noted that similar to 1979, only a strong, united and well organised Nkrumahist political party had the chance to win the next general elections because many Ghanaians were yearning for a strong and reliable alternative to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Miss Nkrumah, said a strong Nkrumahist political machinery, must revive the political thoughts of Dr Nkrumah, so that the young and future generations of Ghanaians could read about his vision and ideas necessary for re-igniting the nationalist zeal necessary for nation building.

Dr Abu Sakara CPP's Presidential Running Mate in Election 2008 said current economic downturn in developed countries and their resort to state intervention to bail out tottering private sectors vindicated Dr Nkrumah's strategy of making the state the prime mover of development.

"It is now clear that state neglect and abandoning responsibility, to make room for unbridled pursuit of private sector interests has limitations for increasing productivity and comes with unacceptable wide social and economic gaps among the populace" "The trickle down thesis of unbridled free market has failed," Dr Sakara said.

"To advance towards our goal of economic emancipation we must once again look for fresh and new start. We must revert to and uphold the core values of the socialism that was fashioned by our founding father," he asserted.

Mr Kosi Dedey, Ho-Central Constituency Chairman of CPP urged chiefs in the constituency to release land for a Kwame-Nkrumah library where the youth and public could access the ideas and vision of Dr Nkrumah. He said the literary works of Dr Nkrumah were very valuable intellectual and political legacies which others elsewhere in the world cherished so much but were sadly unavailable to Ghanaians. 01 April 09