CPP now strong - Samia

09/01/12
THE Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ms Samia Yaba Nkrumah, has said the recent happenings in the party have made the CPP stronger.
Likening the situation to a furnace, she said the exit of some key members of the party had brought the party out of the era of confusion, parallel structures and membership that confused Ghanaians.
Samia, who did not want to be drawn to the resignation of Dr Nduom and the subsequent formation of a new political party and its likely implication on the fortunes of the CPP, said the remaining party members had put that issue behind them and were focused to concentrate on building CPP structures, embark on a membership drive while at the same time encouraging credible and competent Ghanaians who would be on the party’s ticket as parliamentary candidates.
“The recent development was a furnace and those who came out are stronger and working for the reformed CPP which is unambiguous with its message and aware of its role in Ghanaians politics, especially to offer politics of integrity, transparency and a CPP that will unite Ghanaians under one project of self reliance, determination and self sufficiency.
She said the remaining members of the party were focused, resolute and standing firm and battle ready to execute the new agenda of the party which included providing Ghanaians with a decisive political party that had a clear message of self determination and reliance and the ability to solve its problems internally.
Samia, spoke to the Daily Graphic about the way forward for the party after the resignation of Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, a former Member of Parliament (MP) and the 2008 presidential candidate of the CPP to form the Progressive People’s Party (PPP).
“After the power struggle, the CPP has entered the election year with a new identity which is different from the year before. It is only logical to expect a new and better outcome from the 2012 elections. Something better will happen to CPP. The furnace has separated the pure gold from the dust,” she added.
She stated that the CPP’s doors remained widely opened to all Ghanaians who wanted to join and support its quest to seek the political kingdom to be able to execute the policies and programmes that would bring relief to the Ghanaian.
That reformed CPP is a political force that is convinced of actively participating in political discourse and elections to recapture power not for the short term parochial interest of some individual members but to better the living condition of the Ghanaian.
On the way forward, Samia noted that the party had opened nominations for presidential aspirants and gave the assurance that the concentration was for the party’s highest decision making body, the congress, to elect a true CPP presidential candidate who has the backing and support of the majority of the party members and supporters and who would also respect and work in tandem with the party at all levels.
The CPP Chairman said with the current dispensation, it would be extremely difficult for any president to execute its agenda without members of parliament, preferably majority, the CPP was encouraging and would select credible and competent parliamentary candidates, both men and women, and that with this, the party will focus its strength on areas it had an advantage.
This is to build a critical mass of committed and respected parliamentary aspirants who would be able to increase the current CPP seat from a single digit in Parliament to at least a double digit and this would be executed in a manner to avoid previous instances.
“In the past we rushed to field candidates; most of whom were either not committed to the cause of the party or were not people who believed in the ideology of the party. They were not properly screened and that was why in some polling stations we had zero votes. And all these have been the results of our poor performance at both presidential and parliamentary elections”, she said.
Ms Samia commended the rank and file of the party for their determination to remain resolute even after numerous temptations by some individuals to lure them into other groups and political organisation and urged them to always take cue from the leadership who had remained steadfast.
She said it was incumbent on all genuine believers of the ideology of the political party that gave birth to modern Ghana “to bear in mind the onerous responsibility on their shoulders to protect and flourish the legacy and the dream of great CPP.”