275 buses not bribe – Blay tells delegates

The 275 buses promised by Freddie Blay, the acting National Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) under his One Constituency, One Bus agenda are not meant to bribe delegates or influence their voting pattern.

My Blay said the buses would help raise funds for the constituencies to make them financially stable, mobilize resources and support the day-to-day running of the party in the constituencies.

Whether win or lose, this is something I am committed to doing, he added.

He said the One Constituency, One Bus mantra should not be misconstrued to mean the 275 constituencies will have the buses parked at their premises for party activities alone.

Such a practice will make the buses a liability as they will drain funds from the constituencies, who are already cash-strapped, he pointed out.

Master plan

Mr. Blay explained that the buses are part of a carefully thought out strategy by him and his lieutenants and advisers to finance and resource the constituencies.

Under the strategy, he secured a facility from a financial institution to procure the buses, which are expected to arrive in the country by the end of June, this year.

The 275 buses would be allocated to a competent transport company that would manage to make profit. The profit would then be used to pay off the facility, pay the transport company and another portion put into the accounts of the various constituencies.

In simple terms, the buses are for the 275 constituencies, but would be managed by a company on their behalf.

The idea to give them to a transport company is to avoid confusion over who manages and controls the buses at the constituency level, provide a stable source of income for the constituencies, facilitate resource mobilization for the consistency and gradually do away with over reliance on Members of Parliament, financiers and other influential party sympathizers for such support.

Mr. Blay, who declined to mention the name of the financial institution and the total amount of the facility, made the clarifications in Ho when he met the media after meeting party executives, appointees and delegates ahead of the upcoming national elections of the NPP in Koforidua.

Volta tour for massive votes

The acting chairman, who led the party to victory in the 2016 general elections, has been touring the Volta Region in the last two days to explain his policies and ideas and take feedback from party members to guide him in his quest to become the substantive chairman of the party.

Mr. Blay, who was greeted with shouts of ‘Chairman One’ throughout the tour, addressed delegates from eight constituencies at the South Tongu District capital, Sogakofe, before meeting six constituencies in Ho, the regional capital. He also met delegates in Krachi, Kadjebi and Hohoe.

He urged delegates to vote massively for him in order for the party to retain power for a long time to turn round the fortunes of the country to benefit the citizens, many of whom are still impoverished despite the many interventions initiated by the Akufo-Addo administration.

This, he said, is a testament to how bad the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) left Ghana after eight years. To this end, should the NPP stay in power for at least 30 years, Ghana will enter the league of developed nations.

Be that as it may, the party cannot retain power without adequate resource mobilization and funding.

Man for the job

Freddie Blay, a lawyer and former Member of Parliament in Ghana, who served as the First Deputy Speaker in the Fourth Parliament of Ghana, was described by his spokesperson, Richard Nyamah as the right man for the job.

Freddie Blay, who is married to Gina Blay, a native of Taviefe in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region, said he committed resources to the party’s campaign in the Volta Region in the 2016 elections and would likewise improve the lot of the party members in the region, which is his home too.