GNP to spring surprise in 2012— Ampofo

The flag bearer of the Ghana National Party (GNP), Mr Ofori Ampofo, has conceded that the party cannot win this year’s general election but will spring a surprise in the 2012 elections.
According to him, with the type of electioneering that the two main parties — the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) — have embarked on over the years, “it will be over ambitious to think that you can form a party and win general elections within the same period”.
The GNP received its final certificate from the EC early this year.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic about the state of the party, Mr Ampofo, however added that although the party was not sure of winning, anything could happen “because with God all things are possible”.
“We are highly limited in terms of finances. We don’t have the kind of money that the big parties which have been in power have to embark on that kind of campaign”, he added.
He explained that apart from using money to mount very expensive campaigns, the NDC and the NPP had through their bad policies made sure that a large number of the electorate remained illiterate.
He alleged that it would be extremely difficult for the illiterate to apprehend and embrace a new political party, notwithstanding its good messages.
Mr Ampofo noted that the party had embarked on a massive house-to-house campaign by interacting with the good people of Ghana, and explaining to them the bad policies of the NDC and the NPP and the need to vote for the GNP.
He said the GNP’s philosophy was social democratic centrist, meaning the party was ready to implement parts of policies of all political philosophies that were in the best interest of the Ghanaian, and would not restrict itself to any specific policy.
Mr Ampofo said in the final analysis, politics was about gaining power and using it to utilise the state resources for the benefit of the ordinary Ghanaian, irrespective of policies and not about philosophies.
He explained that under the administration of the GNP, the president, ministers of state and other government functionaries would not be made to enjoy free cars, accommodation and other facilities, which he described as a drain on the national economy, and that they would rather be given consolidated salary.
He said with this, the state would save enough funds to cater for other areas and also prove to the ordinary Ghanaian that the government was serious in not wasting the resources of the state.
On taxes, Mr Ampofo said the GNP would ensure that all those in the informal sector were made to come together to form co-operatives and registered, with this it would be very easy to tax them “but we must make sure that they do not tax them excessively”.