National Reform Party: RIP

The National Reform Party (NRP), which broke away from the then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 1990 as a strong offshoot, is gradually dying off. Recently, it failed to meet some of its congress obligations and had to resort to a silver collection to defray some of the costs.

At its extraordinary national congress held at Sunyani last Saturday, the chairman, Peter Kpordugbe, had to launch what he described as a silver collection to defray some of the bills incurred during the organisation of the congress.

When the congress which was attended by a handful of delegates, was about to end, the chairman directed that the collection be collected from the delegates who had paid for their own transport to Sunyani to attend the congress. Launching it, Mr. Kpordugbe said he wanted to know how viable, the members of the party were, as a political party.

Immediately after the collection, the chairman ordered that the monies be brought to him for counting. His orders were carried out. He counted the monies with some three beautiful and fat women.

Announcing the amount collected, Mr. Kpordgbe said, "We managed to put together ?235,000," adding that, "this can pay for the banners printed for the congress." He ended his silver collection address by saying, "We have a team and we have to learn how to generate funds to improve our financial position."

Later in an interview with the 2000 presidential candidate for the party, Mr. Goosie Tanoh, about where he disappeared to after the general elections, he said he decided to remain 'indoors' in order to reactivate his business, which was declining as a result of his involvement in the electioneering campaign.

In a communiqu? issued after the congress, the delegates called for a national media policy formation that could help the country achieve its media aspirations set out in Article 162 of the 1992 Constitution.

The NRP delegates were of the view that the proposed media policy should be debated on at the grassroot level. The party has therefore proposed some elements that could support and enhance the media in the country.

These include state support for media training institutions to strengthen the professionalism of the media, preferential tax or tax holidays for media houses, greater insulation of the state-owned media from the governing party's influence, in favour of a large role for Parliament and the transformation of Graphic Communications Limited, Ghanaian Times and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation into genuine public media.

The NRP also called for the strengthening of the National Media Commission and insulation from executive influence.

It suggested that the GJA, as the main organisation of media practitioners must play a greater role in ensuring higher media standards and greater respect for the media.

On national issues, the NRP is strongly opposed to programmes dictated to Ghana by the IMF, World Bank, WTO and the G8 countries.

Programmes such as HIPC, AGOA and the NEPAD, all of which seem to promote privatisation of the economy and social services and deregulation of foreign investment, are programmes that retard the nation's development efforts, it stated.

The delegates have pledged their support for the merger between the CPP, GCPP and PNC.

According to the party's communiqu?, all Nkrumaist parties in the unity talks have produced a draft political platform and constitution for a united progressive party to be known as the New Convention People's Party (NCPP).

The delegates have adopted the council's decision to formally merge with the other Nkrumaist parties.