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Opinions of Thursday, 19 June 2014

Columnist: Blay-Miezah, Acka-Nyanzu

Kwabena Agyepong must sit up or risk his political demise...

Wonders they say shall never end and indeed, it seems so unending in the affairs of the opposition NPP these days. This is supposed to be the biggest opposition party and indeed the biggest party in the country as it likes to brag about. But to assume the role of the biggest opposition or party anywhere in the world is not one to be attained by mere words or titles but in deeds.

The official voice and face of our party, the NPP, is our General Secretary. To this extent, his commissions, omissions, conduct and posturing will always carry weight and be subjected to scrutiny and to all manner of interpretations especially when such are left in ambiguity. It’s been over two clear months since a new leadership was elected into office by the party. In all this time, the appointments of deputies by these new officers which is mandatory are yet to be done. What are we waiting for and indeed what are we doing at the moment?

Most of us bought into the messages sold by these officers especially Kwabena Agyepong on his campaign trail in which he made us see and feel the urgency of streamlining the party to be battle ready in good time ahead of the 2016. May be some others are privy to strategies and planning's of our new executives in actualizing our supreme goal of winning power, but am not. And am the least enthused about the sluggishness of our executives. All that I see is a spirited effort albeit by a few to sabotage the candidacy of a man who's chances are almost as good as being elected the party's flag bearer. And that is why the party appears so fragmented especially at the top because that is where the whole plot is being unleashed from. Is it not stranger than fiction that fixing a date for a simple primary has become like rocket science where it is taking the party series of meetings through weeks and indeed undetermined period to decide.

Far more did I expect from a General Secretary of the calibre of Kwabena Agyepong. A man reputed to have vast experience with political party activism and administration. Am sad to say he is letting me down big time! It's more than two months and you don't have your deputies appointed? You are not able to decide on a simple definite date for a presidential primary not to talk of drawing a time table for the process. The one that really beats me is his impudence to find himself outside the shores of Ghana at a time when a National Council meeting has been fixed and he himself signed the announcement to the entire world. He is busy doing what? If this is undermining the party's second highest decision making body, then I don't know what else is.

Our General Secretary believes a fraternal tour of our overseas branches is more important than an already fixed National Council meeting. Surely he knows better that the office of a General Secretary of a party like the NPP is far too serious to be engaged in unscheduled trips over scheduled appointments, or will he tell us he scheduled for both conflicting activities? Clearly if Kwabena Agyepong cannot manage his own schedule, then how can we expect him to run the schedules of the party? I consider his absence from Ghana which has warranted the postponement of the 19th June NC meeting to a date yet to be decided as gross disrespect to the party's NEC and NC. These are some of the conducts that leaves some of us armless when we have to defend him from attacks from persons who describe him as arrogant.

That at a time President Mahama is launching the NDC biometric membership card, the EC is bent on a voters registration exercise while the NHIS is also registering minors and foreigners giving them cards that will enable them obtain voters Card, our Party is caught napping and our army general who is reputed to be an elections engineer is busily fraternizing in Europe and exchanging phalanges. Surely, we cannot sit back and dismiss all these by a simple wave of the hands and expect something positive to happen at the end of the day. It's as if we've been possessed by the demons of inertia.

The party should be a step ahead of the NDC by envisaging what the incumbent government's party really hopes to achieve with its new membership card and not what has been broadcast to us all in the public. May be am expecting too much from the new leadership, but when should I expect the party to be battle ready when it's yet to be well composed for its own ultimate internal elections? Not only is there no date for the presidential primaries after nominations have been opened, the party is yet to begin the compilation of its 140 thousand delegates membership album. The state of inertia in the party in the past two months has been immense and it's as if we have gone to put a bunch of clueless persons at the helm.

As for me, I fully endorse the call by the regional chairmen for an early congress because really, what positive can be achieved by prolonging the period of campaigning? It can only serve the interest of our opponents when all that is coming out of the delayed primaries are more factions and taking of extreme positions.

General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong, it's nothing personal. I just want you to wake up and take up your role like a real general and lead the troop if hunger for power in 2016 for the NPP is what motivated you to contest the General Secretaryship position and not any of the contrary undertones and perceptions being spread around. There is so much expected of you and you will not throw away so soon all the goodwill you enjoyed with the people when you campaigned by failing to ensure we win presidential and parliamentary power in 2016. That will be the beginning of your days in oblivion and the end of your political career. Mark it!



Acka-Nyanzu Blay-Miezah
Axim, Evalue-Gwira
ackablaymiezah@gmail.com
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