Delegates to Saturday’s congress of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) must consider the supreme interest of the party and elect leaders who will not pursue their parochial interest but lead the way in reorganizing the party into a formidable force that can win political power, Dr Kweku Osafo, one of the aspiring presidential hopefuls of the party prior to the 2008 elections, has advised.
He said the CPP still enjoyed enormous goodwill among Ghanaians and that with selfless, dedicated and hardworking leaders at the forefront of its affairs, it would be able to turn that goodwill into votes and assume the reins of power to execute the unfinished agenda of Dr Nkrumah.
Dr Osafo, who gave the advice in an interview, noted that the party could bounce back to its former glory as the strongest political force not only in Ghana but also in Africa provided both the leadership and the members, especially the delegates to the congress at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra, considered the paramount interest of the party in all their decisions.
He noted that it was critical for the members of the party to bear in mind that the organisation of the party to become more attractive was the responsibility of every stakeholder and not the preserve of those who would be elected as leaders.
He described as dangerous the situation where some few individuals were given the opportunity to bankroll the party, which gave them the opportunity to behave as owners of the party, and urged the members of the CPP to contribute their quota towards nursing the CPP dream.
Dr Osafo, who is an international economist, said another weakness of the party was the tendency to always remain dormant, only to bounce back towards major elections, adding that that did not augur well for the party.
He said the leadership of the party must ensure that the structures of the partyremained vibrant and active at all times, embark on constant membership drive so that during elections both the presidential and the parliamentary candidates of the party would emerge victorious.
He noted that with committed leaders at the helm of affairs of the party, the CPP would be able to bring to fruition the vision of the Founder of the nation, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which included self-determination, social justice and pan-Africanism.
These, he said, held the key to the advancement and the accelerated development of the country and Africa through industrialization, as well as putting Ghanaians at the commanding heights of the economy.
Dr Osafo said one of the reasons the party fared badly in recent elections was the way, before congresses, various leaders, particularly presidential hopefuls and chairmen, formed support groups made up of others vying for positions such as chairman, general secretary, youth organiser, women’s organiser, among others.
He said the danger had always been that when such leaders won their positions and their supporters could not, then it became difficult for the leader who had won his position to work closely with those who had won other positions but were not in the camp of the chairman or the presidential candidate.
He appealed the to the delegates and the aspirants to make such an unhealthy political strategy a thing of the past and ensure that the CPP moved forward.
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