United Nkrumahists will go it alone

THE CENTRAL Committee of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) has stated emphatically that the party would not align itself with and become a surrogate of any other political party.

It said, the CPP would remain steadfastly independent and be guided by the lofty principles of Nkrumaism and a clear commitment to the broad aspirations of the Ghanaian and African masses, struggling against policies of privatisation, retrenchment of labour and the withdrawal of subsidies on social services such as health and education.

A statement signed by CPP General Secretary, Dr. Nii Noi Dowuona, at the end of the party’s Central Committee meeting last Thursday, said the much talked about Parliamentary Action Group (PAG) is not recognised by any of the party structures.

The Central committee re-affirmed its position that, the CPP is currently focused on the rebuilding of its structures with the view to emerging as a viable independent and credible alternative to the New Patriotic party (NPP) and all other political parties in the country.

The statement said, in arriving at this position, the Central Committee took full cognisance of the current national situation, the unique ideological and political underpinnings of party policy and the expectation of the Ghanaian masses, that the CPP will grow to offer leadership to the progressive forces struggling against neo-liberal policies dictated by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It further stated that, the central committee had committed itself fully to the efforts to unify all Nkrumahist political parties in the bold confrontation with social injustice, under-development and all other manifestations of poverty and unequal social and economic relations.

It will be recalled that a group calling itself the PAG recently proposed that the CPP should contest only 50 seats in the 2004 general elections. The group also suggested that the party should not field any presidential candidate.

Members of the PAG include Hon. Freddie Blay, CPP MP for Ellembelle and First Deputy Speaker; Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Integration, Mr. Kojo Armah, District Chief Executive (DCE) for Nzema East, Mr. Mike Eghan, 3rd Vice-Chairman of CPP, Hon. Alabira Ibrahim, former MP for Mion, among others. Incidentally, most of them are holding appointments in the current NPP government.

Their posture was stridently condemned by CPP activists such as Kwesi Pratt, Editor of Insight and Mr. Johnny Hansen, a leading member of CPP.