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Opinions of Friday, 11 September 2009

Columnist: Agbodza, Kwami

CPP Must Form a Shadow Government Now

I call on the Elected Leadership of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) in Accra to take all necessary steps to immediately form a Shadow Government to demonstrate an alternative Government of Ghana to the people of Ghana and offer effective and constructive opposition to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government of President John Mills and Vice President John Mahama with their background in the Nkrumah Political Family.

The Shadow Government must be made up of a national government, a regional government and a district government irrespective of size.

I further call on the Elected Leadership to form a youthful Shadow Government putting the youth of Ghana at head of an effective opposition and alternative CPP Administration capable of managing our affairs.

Kwame Nkrumah built Ghana and CPP and on Ghana’s progressive youth and often quoted Mazzini:

"Place the young at the head of the insurgent masses; you do not know what strength is latent in those young bands, what magic influence the voices of the young have on the crowd; you will find in them a host of apostles for the new religion. But youth lives on movement, grows great in enthusiasm and faith. Consecrate them with a lofty mission; inflame them with emulation and praise; spread through their ranks the word of fire, the word of inspiration; speak to them of country, of glory, of power, of great memories."

The Convention People’s Party must form a Government from the youth of Ghana and proceed to organise youth congresses to that effect with immediate effect now.

If the Convention People’s Party cannot find older men and older women who are prepared to serve, sacrifice and suffer for the party and Ghana because they may have a lot to lose if they were to come out openly or because they only want already-cooked food, then the Convention People’s Party must find new young men and young women who have nothing to lose if they come forward and everything to gain if they organise themselves.

We must look to our young men and women who have left university, teacher training colleges, polytechnics, private schools and who are doing their national service or have completed their national service and who are unemployed among others; we must look to the disabled community; we must look to vulnerable groups with talent; we must look to teachers at primary and secondary school levels; we must look for young men and women who have no experience but who are prepared to learn to govern themselves and serve their country.

Ghana needs a new type of government and we must look for it amongst our young men and women. As Kwame Nkrumah once said:

"Africa needs a new type of citizen, a dedicated, modest, honest, informed man [and woman] who abhors greed and detests vanity. A new type of man [and woman] whose humility is his [her] strength and whose integrity is his [her] greatness" (Africa Must Unite p. 130, Kwame Nkrumah)

I remind the Convention People’s Party that the best way to form a government is to form a government; the best way to demonstrate credibility to demonstrate it; the best way to learn to govern a country is go govern it and if not in office shadow the government in office. We must put an end immediately to the practice of always going to serve in the governments and boards of other political parties and set up our own. We must also put an end forthwith to demonstrations that yield no political dividends to us but the main opposition to the government in office.

The Convention People’s Party must set aside all other objectives and set out to showcase an alternative Shadow Government of Spokespersons immediately and in preparation towards the next election; from humble beginnings it will perfect its political operations and develop its African Personality.

We must form a shadow government to start doing politics now.

I call for a CPP Shadow Government Now.

Kwami Christian Agbodza

Regional Secretary for Education, CPP UK & Ireland.

Kwami_agbodza@yahoo.co.uk http://www.facebook.com/kwami.agbodza