Kofi Portuphy
A committee to reorganize the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to uphold its core principles and values has been proposed.
The Coalition for Rejuvenation and Reorganizing of the NDC (CRR), a group comprising activists of the NDC, Cadres of the 31st December Revolution, constituency and branch executives, made the call on Thursday in Accra.
Addressing the media, spokesperson of CRR and an NDC activist, Kunkun Ampiah, said the reorganization of the NDC should be the focus of party members rather than the investigations into the defeat of the party in the December polls.
That, he said, was because supporters and activists of the NDC nationwide already know the causes of the party’s defeat, and as such there was no need for a committee to investigate the causes of the poor performances in the polls.
“We do not need a fact-finding committee to explain December 7. We lost because hundreds of thousands of our members and supporters boycotted the polls for years of neglect by the leadership and some arrogant and ineffective election campaigners,” Mr. Ampiah.
The rank and file of the NDC are currently engaged in the blame-game, forcing the party to set up a 13-member fact-finding committee, chaired by Dr. Kwesi Botcway, to investigate the causes of the defeat of the NDC.
But the CRR believes the Dr. Botcway Committee is needless and that the party should focus on how to reorganize the party at the national, regional and constituency and branch levels to enable it win the 2020 elections.
“Our crisis will not be resolved simply by playing musical chairs. We must shelve all premature and unproductive debates on 2020 leadership and focus first on the systemic and reorganizational failings that have allowed leadership to perform so badly for so long,” said CRR.
Mr. Ampiah said “we must review our branches effectively and their engagement with our base so that we can regain our propriety or ownership and supporters’ confidence.”
Citing reasons for the party’s defeat, Mr. Ampiah said “our members and supporters say the party (NDC) abandoned its grassroots base – working people, youth, women and indigenous business people once it got power.”
“Instead of policies, programmes and institutions to uplift this considerable and important constituency, our government offered only spin.”
“Our members and supporters say the party’s presidential and parliamentary campaigns sidelined experienced hands and party organs in favor of inexperienced and unaccountable appointees, relatives and friends.”
Touching on the rationale behind the formation of the group, Mr. Ampiah said “we have come together because of the crushing defeat of our party in both presidential and parliamentary elections on December 7 and the leadership collapse that it has exposed.”
By Melvin Tarlue