Nduom is a Pariah in his own Party - A Rejoinder.

From the moment he was elected the flag bearer of Convention Peoples Party, Papa Kwesi Nduom has emerge as a leader with a difference, a leader with vision who can bring about social change, bold and innovative development to the land of his birth, Ghana.

After almost 16 years of NDC and NPP administrations, Ghana is in desperate need of a different leadership. The Ghanaian people were promise “milk and honey” by the two parties. Today millions of Ghanaians languish in poverty and hopelessness. In Ghana today NPP and NDC politicians act as if “the sheep are there for the shepherd”.

Kwame Okoampa Ahoofe, an NPP cheerleader and a community college teacher for high school dropouts in New York may be misrepresenting history when he drew parallel between the impeccable career of Papa Kwesi Nduom and the flag bearer of his party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo (Ghana web feature article 4th July, 2008). Whatever one's position in that debate, Papa Kwesi Nduom’s faultless achievement in the NPP administration surpasses the rest of the presidential candidates, including all the NPP ministers (former and current)? What is Ahoofe suggesting? That Papa Kwesi Nduom shouldn't have join CPP after giving credibility to NPP administration by serving the nation for almost 7 years? Kwame Okoampa Ahoofe especially argued, "Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom that his neo-liberal political temperament, as well as his professional profile, eloquently attested to the fact that he was a Danquah-Busia Traditionalist, or scion, at heart. It was, of course, quite understandable that the man felt nostalgic, even outright passionate, about the African Show Boy because, after all, Paa Kwesi had grown up swearing by the gospel according to Nkrumaism, as a Young Pioneer Movement recruit.

Still, that was way back in the 1960s, when the now-Presidential Candidate of the rump-Convention People’s Party was barely into his teens. I had also added the fact that had he been an adult and as professionally successful as he currently is, a socialist-oriented African Show Boy would have punitively tagged him as a capitalist cormorant, and Paa Kwesi Nduom may well have ended up in one of the condemned cells at the Nsawam Medium-Security Prison". Ahoofe is "cherry-picking history" to support his case for the false accusations against Papa Kwesi Nduom. Mr Ekow Nelson, a distinguish Nkrumaist and writer who had compared Nduom flawless election at CPP congress and the chaotic NPP flagbearership elections at their congress, accused Ahoofe of "twisting history". Okoampa Ahoofe is distorting history!

As a former member of the Young Pioneer Movement, Papa Kwesi Nduom was trained to lead and to offer selfless service to the people of Ghana. He eloquently demonstrated his passion to serve when he addressed over 100,000 crowds at Tamale Jackson Park last fall. Nduom stated that, "CPP are committed to social fairness and believe in equal worth of all Ghanaians.CPP are humbled by the responsibility to make up for lost years". Papa Kwesi Nduom told the teeming crowd that only way to bring prosperity to every corner of the land is to vote massively for the CPP. He said CPP will govern inclusively, focusing on real equal opportunity for all, one that is based on inclusion of all sections of the Ghanaian, equal participation and empowerment of all.

Papa Kwesi Nduom is emerging at a period when Ghana and Africa need a new leader with vision.

Papa Kwesi Nduom’s most urgent task is first, and in some respects the most important, is to speed up the socio-economic development of Ghana and then the regional economic cooperation/development of ECOWAS.

As a progressive Papa Kwesi Nduom believe in core progressive values: respect for all Ghanaians, regardless of tribe and promote social justice. With the discovery of oil, Papa Kwesi Nduom knows and believes that sound macroeconomic and fiscal policies would encourage growth and expansion that can help create employment for the millions of unemployed and underemployed Ghanaian people. In order to bring about this social justice, he acknowledge that the benefits of growth from the mid 1990s are not being realised for all Ghanaians, especially the poor majority, those that he rightly called his constituents, due to unequal income distribution. He said CPP will vigorously address poverty and underdevelopment by pioneering in the connection between the enhanced 7 Year Development Plan and revamp poverty reduction programme.

Just as he stated at the Tamale rally, this writer believes that under Papa Kwesi Nduom’s CPP administration, he will pursue policies that would lead to higher standards of living for the Ghanaian people, by modernising government to ensure it focus on addressing poverty as well as build a country not based on prejudice, nepotism and tribalism, but based on opportunity for all.

Papa Kwesi Nduom’s one-touch with the Ghanaian people emanates from his Young Pioneer days when leadership was entrusted on the young shoulders of the boys and girls of the movement. From that moment on, Papa Kwesi Nduom committed himself to the Young Pioneers core values of “opportunity for all Ghanaians”, regardless of tribe and status. Nduom said Ghanaians require secure neighbourhoods not one based on lawlessness, crime, drugs and violence.

This core values includes creating employment opportunity and prosperity for the people, provide quality education and lifelong learning (includes the drop outs and the homeless). Papa Kwesi Nduom believes that for the nation to achieve her dream of middle income status in the shortest possible time, education and life long learning will play a key part as well as bring social cohesion as was the case under the first CPP administration. Nduom also believe in better health of the people. As a Young Pioneer, he promise “on his honour to be the vanguard of the people” and this includes the well being of those he pledge to serve, by ensuring good health post for districts and teaching hospital for every region. On the health of nation, Papa Kwesi Nduom said CPP concentrate on the prevention of diseases such as TB, Malaria, and HIV/AIDS among others by increasing resources on health infrastructure.

Papa Kwesi Nduom knows that in order to achieve the kind of success he envisages, there must be a shared responsibility between the public and private sectors in the delivery of services and employment. Nduom said "under CPP we will use new technologies to its fullest advantage to improve health and promote education by training more doctors and teachers, thus reducing the ratio between doctors/patients and pupils/teachers to enhance national development.

Nduom said he will promote stem cell and nano technologies in all the public universities (University of Ghana, Legon; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; University of Cape Coast; University of Education, Winniba; University of Mines, Tarkwa; University for Development Studies). On where to site the new University of Agriculture, Papa Kwesi Nduom said Volta Region is still the preferred choice. He said Voltarians have a strong case for the university to be sited in their region including a prestigious school of medical sciences.

Papa Kwesi Nduom, invoking his Nkrumaist credentials, said under his CPP administration the three Northern Regions and Volta Region will come to the fore. Papa Kwesi Nduom said, "CPP will establish networks of thinkers (at home and Diaspora) and the country's scientific faculties of the country's universities at identifying challenges and policy options.

Peter Jeffrey, London.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.