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General News of Friday, 1 February 2002

Source: Chronicle

No Ideological Difference Between CPP & NPP

The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Fredie Blay, has argued that the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ascension of the United States to the pantheon of supremacy in global politics have made it difficult ideologically to strike a difference between the NPP and the CPP.

"At the moment we have unipolar power block in this world. American philosophy of liberal democracy and market economy is subscribed to by all kinds of people from all kinds of countries. Indeed the Russians themselves happened to have been the bastion of socialism, at the moment it is not what it used to be," he pointed out.

Justifying his unending support for the NPP in Parliament in an interview with Chronicle yesterday, Mr Freddie Blay, who is also the CPP Member of Parliament for Ellembelle Constituency, issued an outright dismissal to the notion that there is a marriage of convenience between himself and the NPP MPs, saying the NPP is not hawkish about the social concerns of the populace - one of the cardinal principles of CPP.

"They are talking about their belief in property but at the same time they believe in government helping the poor and the underprivileged," he underscored.

He however made his resolve unequivocal to oppose any government policy that is detrimental to the interest of the good people of this country.

As to the likelihood of him crossing to the NPP in the next elections, he dismissed it as a debilitating speculation that will never materialize, noting that there is no inducement that will let him abandon the people of his constituency who reposed much confidence in him.

The government, according to him, has met its targets of macroeconomic stability, which has led to the downward spiral of both the inflation and the interest rate, adding that the fight against corruption has led to the plummeting of public expenditure to an appreciable level.

Mr Blay is upbeat about the success of the reunification talk between the Nkrumahist families, arguing that if they can join forces with NPP which hitherto was diametrically opposed to them then it stands to reason that coming together as one people with one tradition would not be something unachievable.

He however warned that if internal bickering and squabbles did not cease within the family then the fortunes of Nkrumah's traditions will sink into oblivion.

According to him, the walkout of Parliament by the minority is excessive and trivial, noting that it does not achieve a modicum of effect it is intended to.

The First Deputy Speaker is however of a fervent belief that the NDC Members of Parliament are performing better than they did when the NDC was in power.

He described Dan Lartey, the leader and founder of Great Consolidated Popular Party(GCPP) as a dangerous character whose pronouncement can be a recipe for fomenting upheaval.

"That man has been involved in a coup. He is being involved in a government that overthrew a legitimate government and played a very significant role, indeed people believe that he was even involved in its planning and execution now if he talked about anything that suggest that there is going to be an upheaval or some kind of subvention of the constitution the security have to be alert they have to invite him," he stressed.