My Black Thursday On Asempa 94.7 fm

Thursday 27th August will forever remain one of the saddest days in my life. It was a day I had a brawl with Michael Ampong another NPP activist in the studios of Asempa FM. I wish the incident never happened.

It all started when I responded to the invitation of Asempa to throw more light on a feature I had written after the NPP Constitutional Amendments. I initially turned down the invitation and instead opted to discuss the issue on phone. I was however told another topic to be discussed was 'Why the NDC will be a one term government' and this convinced me since I was much interested in the second topic. At the studios I actually summarised the feature and when it was the turn of Michael Ampong, he accused me of the having a penchant for writing divisive and insulting features.

I came in to explain that features are opinions and their interpretation and analysis are usually left to readers. I also explained it has been my style to be critical of certain issues in NPP so they could be fixed.

I then reminded Ampong that if he says my feature is insulting then he is a worse victim because he once rained naked insults on Nana Akufo Addo.

It will be recalled that Ampong as National Campaign Coordinator for Mr. Alan Kyerematen was reported to have said Ghana will be plunged into chaos should the New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegates consider Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo for the flagbearership slot of the party and eventually elected president.

According to the Chronicle story of 7th December 2007, Ampong said Akufo-Addo was arrogant, temperamental and hot-headed for the number one job of the land, the Presidency, and therefore, it will be suicidal for the NPP to parade him as its presidential candidate.

"We are at risk, if we should elect Nana Akufo-Addo and present him as our candidate" he was reported to have said at 'Hello', a Kumasi based Radio station. He however later denied the Chronicle report.

In the course of my submission, Ampong flared up and used words like "stupid", "idiot", "you are a disgrace to NPP", ”where do you come from" on air. He also used ethnically charged words that are unprintable when we were off air. On top of all these insults, he held my shirt when I decided to leave the Studio. It was at that moment I punched him resulting in the brawl.

I need to clarify the many misconceptions and interpretations to the problem; The issue was not about perceived support for certain leading members in the NPP; It did not happen because we aspire to same position in the party; We were not there to discuss factionalism in the NPP and it did not happen because of pent-feelings from my side.

I have also heard people say I am just seeking attention negatively in the light of my desperation to holding a National office, I wish to say that is totally false and unfounded. What attention do I need after holding so many positions including General Secretary of the National Union of Ghana Student NUGS).

As to my being an NDC mole in NPP, I just laughed it off. I am a thorough-bred NPP boy and my records in NPP are well documented. I come from a staunch Danquah-Busia family. My grandfather Mr Braimah Salifu was a unflinching member of the Northern Peoples Party (NPP) and later the United Party (UP).

My father Alhaji Mahama Salifu, who is a pillar of the Danguah-Busia-Dombo Political Tradition in Gonjaland and Northern Region, served as Youth leader of the Progress Party (PP) from 1969 to 1972. He was commended by K.A. Busia for his hard work and financial support to the PP after the party won the Bole (then Gonja West) seat in 1969. My father later became Leader of the Popular Front Party (PFP) in 1979 and later Chairman, New Patriotic Party (NPP) from 1992 to 2007 and then retiring from active politics as a result of ill-health.

I wish to say that I joined the NPP in its formative stage and have diligently served the party in various capacities. At age seventeen, I was the youngest delegate at the congress that elected the late Professor Albert Adu Boahen Presidential candidate.

I have occupied several positions both in school and outside school for the NPP. I was Secretary-NPP Youth Wing on Campus, TI Ahmadiyya Secondary School-Kumasi and leader NPP Branch on Campus, N.J. Ahmadiyya Teacher Training College Wa. In 2000 I was appointed a member of the Campaign Committee for the Bole-Bamboi Constituency.
After the 2000 election, I became Secretary of NPP for the Bole-Bamboi constituency.

I wish at this juncture to thank all those who have expressed worry over the issue. I have received many mails, calls and have been invited by many people to discuss many issues. I also thank Gabby Asare Otchere Darko for being the first to invite the two us to a meeting to thrash out the problem. At the meeting Michael Ampong agreed he went wrong somewhere and I also agreed I went wrong somewhere. We later apologised to all listeners on that day and all NPP members on the same platform (Asempa) on Friday-a day after the incident.

At an NPP Communication Committee meeting (of which both of us are members) we repeated the same apologies and promised it will never happen again. We also promised to work for the Unity and Cohesion of the NPP and also resolved to channel our energy, fighting spirit and intelligence to fighting the NDC.

An important NPP Constitutional Amendment Proposal that was not carried.

One of the best NPP Constitutional Amendment Proposal that was not carried was the provision on Party-Government Relations. The provision which came from the Greater Accra Regional Secretariat of the NPP was meant to ensure a better NPP party-government relationship when the party is in power. It would have been the best thing to happen to the party.

The NPP rank and file believe that institutionalizing the process of selection people for appointment by an NPP president will ensure the following, among other things: Help define a supreme interest, reduce sycophancy, avoid personality worship, motivate members, get members to rise above personalities and unite in purpose, redistribute resources, both human and financial, to the constituencies and the polling stations, ensure year round activities and a massive win in 20012 and beyond.

The NPP party recognizes that, under the national constitution, it is the President's prerogative to appoint. The proposal did not seek to usurp the President’s prerogative or tie his hands, but only to set forth a consultative framework between the NPP party and the NPP Government to ensure an equitable and fair distribution of well qualified people to political positions when the party is in power.

Proposal:

When an NPP Flag bearer or running mate is subsequently elected as President, he or she shall appoint the following positions in close consultation with the National Executive Committee, who shall be required to clear the political appointees among them with their respective constituencies (Working closely with the relevant polling station(s) and Regional Executive Committee).

1. All nominees for Ministerial positions

2. All government allocated director or similar positions on corporate boards with government shareholding and/or State Enterprise Corporations; Chief Executive Officer or similar positions in corporations. For the voidance of doubt, such representation shall be on each such Corporate Board or State Enterprise Corporation;

3. All Ambassadorial positions.

The NPP Constituency and Regional parties may from time to time recommend known and active members of the party in the constituencies and the region to the National Executive Committee for consideration as government officials to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of ministerial. Ambassadorial and Corporate Board Appointments.

The Flag bearer shall accept the recommendations of the NPP Constituencies to appoint and remove officials from the following positions:

4. 100% of all District, Municipal and Metropolitan Chief Executive Positions. The recommendations for DCES and MCES shall be based on selections by the Constit0uency Executive Committees, in the assembly with their respective polling station executives of the relevant constituencies, and in close consultation with their regional steering committee;

5. 100% of all Regional Ministerial Positions. The recommendations for Regional Ministerial positions shall be based on selection by relevant Regional executive committees.

It is simply unfortunate this provision did not see the light of the day.

Why Was Alan Against Electoral Expansion?

Let me begin this piece by posing two rhetorical questions as a foundation.

(1) How can a candidate who campaigned against my right to vote now come to me and ask for my vote?

(2) How can a confident aspiring Presidential candidate work against having his own popularity tested by a much larger number of the electorate within his own party?

Saturday, August 22 was indeed a historical day in the annals of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.

It was the day of the ‘R Convention 09’ – Reflect, Rebuild, and Recapture 2012 of Ghana’s largest opposition party, which lost power last December. The 46 or so constitutional amendments passed by the New Patriotic Party were by far the most far reaching reforms since the party was formed 17 years ago. Before then, we were told how the most ‘controversial’ proposal (expansion of the electoral college) was threatening to split the party. Our detractors were hoping to see an all-out punch-up at the Trade Fair Centre, La.

Alas, what they got was nothing more than a decibel higher than the usual heckling that greets the State of the Nation address when delivered by the President of the Republic. Where from all the doomsday predictions? Well, in one corner of the ring, former President J. A. Kufuor was known to be irrevocably against the extension of the franchise to the foot soldiers. In the other corner, former presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo was also seen to be proactively fighting for the expansion. It was seen as a referendum on the popularity of President Kufuor and his protégé on one hand and Nana Akufo-Addo on the other. So once the two camps were not on one side with the reforms all hell should break loose.

What people forgot to appreciate was that it was rather the anti-expansionists, however loud and resourceful, who were sailing against the wind of change. The expansion before it was passed enjoyed the support of an overwhelming majority of the party from top to bottom. Both the National Executive Committee and the National Council of the party endorsed the reforms, rationalised the proposals and sent the national officers out there to market it to the party in the country. The Minority in Parliament, by consensus, endorsed the amendments, including the expansion of the electoral colleges and the short listing of presidential aspirants. Without a doubt, the proposal to grant all 105,000 polling station executives of the party the right to choose who leads the party was the most popular move ever proposed since the NPP Constitution was promulgated in 1992.

What has been baffling, however, is the political (mis)calculation of one man who is seen as a prospective leader of the NPP. The kind of self-serving hypocrisy exhibited by Mr Alan Kwadjo Kyeramaten, the runner up of the 2007 presidential primaries of the NPP, cannot be ignored and should not be ignored. He has shot himself in the foot and by so doing exposed the quality and depth of his leadership credentials. A leader is one who is able to show leadership and direction in times of taking critical decisions that affect the destiny of his flock. A leader takes a position when there are tough decisions to take. Tony Blair ditched Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution (which committed the party to re-nationalisation of privatised states assets) and ended the supremacy of the party conference, just like that of the NPP National Congress. While that Blair move brought the Labour Party of Britain closer to the middle classes, who form the majority of UK voters, the reforms by the Mac Manu-chaired NPP will empower the foot-soldiers of the party, among other things. So why then would a prospective leader, of even a younger generation than Kufuor and Akufo-Addo argue against the most far-reaching of the reforms, the expansion?

I find it most curious that Alan purportedly spoke at the crucial National Council meeting of April 29 for the expansion of the electoral college but chose to keep mute all throughout the heated campaign to win more souls for the amendment. Was it not the same Alan who in 2007 had drawn on paper a strategy called 'Kalamari' which was a campaign strategy to court the Polling Station Executives who in theory had the power to vote for the six of the 10 delegates for the National Congress? When John Kumah, an aid and spokesperson of Alan was interviewed by the media one week before the R Convention ’09, he said Alan had not made up his mind on whether to support the expansion or not. He repeated this until the last day. Mr Kumah even went as far as criticising those who were for the amendment and their campaign tactics. “If they are so confident of victory why are they giving delegates money,” he recklessly alleged on radio, four days before the conference.

Now, the hypocrisy comes in. The same John Kumah told journalists shortly after the anti-expansionist were defeated that Alan was excited about the decision to expand the electoral college and that Alan had “always held the view that, the expansion of the electoral college would help to revive grassroots participation and restore hope and confidence in the NPP.” He also claimed that Alan was the first aspirant who involved polling stations in his campaign even when they were not allowed to vote at conferences and congresses of the party. The Independent newspaper on Monday, August 24, portrayed Alan as a man for the foot-soldiers.

This was followed on Tuesday by a publication in a newspaper that did a lot of PR for Alan in the 2007 flag-bearership contest, The Daily Dispatch, which put Alan and Akufo-Addo on one side as those who were for the expansion and President Kufuor and Hon Isaac Osei, MP for Subin, as those who lost out. Well, at least, Isaac Osei was principled and brave enough to come out a week before the conference to announce on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana that, yes, he was interested in contesting and, no, he didn’t’ think the expansion was equitable enough to be passed. Nana Akufo-Addo also granted interviews to express his support for the expansion.

While Nana Akufo-Addo and Isaac Osei came out to state their positions publicly and actively participated in the discussions and campaign to accept or reject the amendment proposals, Alan Kyeramaten decided to stay mute and hope for a win-win situation. Meaning if the amendments were rejected he wins and now that they have been accepted he can also claim victory. But, the reality was so glaring to be buried by any post-expansion PR exercise. Alan used his presidential campaign machinery to campaign against the proposal to extend the franchise to NPP polling station executives. The people who are leading Alan’s presidential bid today were the same people who were at the forefront of the campaign against the expansion. Paul Afoko and Mohammed Amin Anta (former Tamale MCE) were at the three Northern Regions campaigning against the amendments. In the Volta Region, Kenwood Nuworsu (NPP Regional Chairman) was very instrumental in working against the amendment. In the Ashanti Region, Yaw Amankwa (Regional Chairman), Asare Bediako (Asokwa Chairman) and Nana Adu Asabre (Asante Akim South Chairman), all strong Alan loyalists were going around campaigning against the reforms using the same chat-up lines.

Kwabena Agyepong who is effectively running Alan’s campaign now was the loudest of them all in the few days before the R Convention. On television and radio and assisted by Kwadwo Mpianim, Kwabena Sarpong, Hilda Addo, Frank Agyekum, Frimpong Manso Adakabre and others were effectively pushing the anti-expansion campaign. Kofi Jumah who is leading Alan’s Campaign in Parliament, alongside Dr Richard Anane, were also relentless in their campaign to maintain the status quo. So how hypocritical can Alan get to be now seeking to claim that he was always for the expansion?

Does Alan truly underestimate the intelligence of NPP rank and file? Why did he not also stand up to be counted when the likes of Akufo-Addo, Osafo Marfo, Dan Botwe, Hackman Owusu Agyeman, and O B Amoah stood up like men of conviction? Why did he not identify himself with the expansionists? Clearly, he was against it but was too afraid to stick out his neck so he sent out his ‘men’ to do his bidding for him. But, the most serious question is the one that borders on conviction. Why did Alan make such a radical u-turn to join the anti-expansionists? Was it because President Kufuor asked him to? And, if so, what does that make Alan to Kufuor’s whims and caprices?

It is recalled that President Kufiuor was not in town when the NEC and National Council were holding those crucial meetings at the end of April. He was out on a World Bank assignment. But, when he came back he made his views very clear to the parliamentary caucus of the NPP and to that leaked meeting that took place at his house, attended by both Alan and Akufo-Addo, among others like Kwabena Agyepong and Boniface Siddique. So, if Alan changed his mind because of President Kufuor what is it that President Kufuor revealed to him that was so convincing? I would want to argue that Alan's change of mind could not have been based on any principle or conviction. It was either based on his willingness to do the former President’s bidding or a persuasive argument that an expanded electoral college would not serve his political interest. I believe the last thing the NPP need is unprincipled leadership and leadership without conviction.

After making the case for the amendment, Alan turned around against the amendment because Kufour was against the amendment? What does that make him? An instrument of Kufour or an instrument of the party he wants to lead? But, I am inclined to be charitable and argue that President Kufuor managed to convince Alan that his only chance to win the flagbearership was to maintain the status quo and see how he could influence the majority of the 2340 delegates. But, to risk competing against the much marketed Akufo-Addo for the votes of over 115,000 delegates would be suicidal.

For those who fear that the NPP is being eaten away by factionalism, they should not worry. What the results of the R Convention show is that Alan and Kufuor are not in tune with the pause of the party. By going against the expansion Alan himself has admitted that he is not popular enough to win in a contest against Akufo-Addo. And, by going against the expansion he has made his case worse. It may have been a little different if he had gone with the expansion and associated himself with the party’s foot soldiers.

It simply does not make sense spending money to stage an expansive campaign, the loss of which would nail the coffin of your presidential ambition. It would be a campaign which would be negative, with the Akufo-Addo camp exposing Alan’s anti-expansionism and questioning his commitment to the party he resigned from. Alan’s team, faced with an overwhelming rank and file call for ‘no change’ would be forced to mount a negative, dirty campaign on Akufo-Addo which would also just throw cheap ammunition to the NDC. In fact the NDC would circulate dirty text messages to get NPP to knock heads together.

I believe Alan cannot lose for the second time in a contest that every objective observer knows he cannot win and expect to be taken seriously by the party or to remain relevant in it. It would be a suicidal mission. To me Alan should learn from the 2004 situation. The Kufuor camp expected Akufo-Addo to contest J.A. Kufour, but he refused, bid his time and years later came back strongly to win. If Alan does not contest now and throw his support behind Akufo-Addo, it would make him the ultimate successor.

Already he did the unthinkable by resigning from the NPP and I once argued technically he was disqualified. Because of Alan, a full amendment has been inserted into the constitution to clarify resignations in the NPP. It states; "A member (of NPP) shall cease to be a member by writing and signing a letter addressed to his or her constituency chairperson declaring his or her intention to cease to be a member and forthwith surrendering his or her membership card". Previously the provision on resignation stated; "A member (of NPP) shall cease to be a member by declaring his or her intention to cease to be a member and forthwith surrendering his or her membership card.”

My advice to Alan is that he should not contest the 2010 Presidential Primaries of NPP. If he did, that popularity he and his cabal claim he allegedly commands would be shamefully exposed. Alan (by allowing himself to be influenced by President Kufuor on the expansion) has only succeeded in strengthening Nana Akufo-Addo's standing, clout and influence within the NPP.

So is he now going to change his campaign team or use the same anti-expansionist ringleaders like Kwabena Agyepong to go around the country canvassing delegates’ votes for him? The only person among them who has come out as principled, courageous and loyal to the party is Amin Anta. He spoke his mind at the conference despite the heckling and jeering and immediately after the dye was cast, he came out to publicly support the majority decision. The NPP must focus on such principled men.

Alan's decision to stage a proxy campaign with his campaign team against the expansion has killed off his presidential ambition so far as this expanded electoral college is concerned. It has exposed him as an unprincipled hypocrite. The 115,000 vote question now is: how do you go to the same person you fought against having a vote to now give you his vote? It would be like telling him “I do not think you are good enough to have a vote, but please can I have your vote?” This is not a comfortable position for a man of ambition.

Ex-President John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor must be Stopped!

The name of the J.A Kufour will no doubt feature prominently when the history of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition is written. Ex-President Kufuor undoubtedly is the most successful leader of the UP tradition but not the most popular. His rejection of the NPP constitutional amendments is tantamount to putting his popularity to test once again, and it is clear that majority of the NPP executives at the Polling Station, Constituency and Regional level will go against him. I believe delegates to the NPP Delegates Conference will surely rebuff Ex-President J.A Kufuor by approving all the proposed amendments.

I wonder why the Ex-President is vehemently opposing the proposed expansion of the party’s Electoral College to give the party supporters
grassroots participation in the nomination of its candidates for various elections. But right from the day after the Ex-President's stance was made public, after the infamous meeting in his house to discuss the party's future with some party leaders, the overwhelming majority of the party stakeholders view this stance with suspicion. Their suspicion of the Ex-President is well placed. How can they forget the role he played in various elections within the party over the years? .

The agitation for the NPP constitutional Amendments did not start with the current Executive as some party members were told. It started long ago. At Cape-Coast in 2003 some amendments were done but the issue of the expansion of the electoral college was deferred. There was broad consensus that took place before the current proposals were put together. The proposals came from various sections of the party home and abroad, including NPP’s grassroots organisation. Members of the National Executive, National Council, and Minority caucus by consensus unanimously endorsed the amendments. In fact many groups within the party and individual members including me sent inputs.

The NPP constitutional amendment proposals are meant to bring about the desire of party members at the grass roots for change, modernisation and the general reform of the party's structures, organisation and operation. It is also aimed at ensuring that we have a unified party with a very good image, better organised, more disciplined and with effective mechanisms for resolving grievances and choosing the right candidates and leaders.

The amendments will keep the grassroots of the party more vibrant, ensure that potential office seekers work extremely hard at all levels of the Party especially at the grassroots and as well as ensure that only true blue party men fill all positions from the Polling Station level to the National offices. Added to this is the fact, am therefore surprised that the former President wanted the status quo to remain.

Ex-President Kufour's attempt to torpedo the amendments is ill-timed, ill-advised, miscalculated and simply uncalled for. He does not understand the pulse of the grass roots. Even after signs are clear that the anti-expansionist are fighting a lost course, his Special Assistant Frank Agyekum still went ahead to tell the whole world Kufour was against the expansion of the electoral college.

And this was even after some groups of polling station executives demonstrated at the NPP headquarters coupled with similar agitations across the country to get the NPP delegates to fully endorse the proposals.

I am of the opinion that Ex-President Kufour should have lent a lesson because starting from 2005, he has always taken sides on many issues especially elections within the NPP. He took sides in the 2005 National Executive Elections and got serious bruises after all but one of the people he supported won.

During the Party’s Presidential primaries, Kufour who was supposed to be a father to all the aspirants contesting the flag bearer position chose to throw his immense political and financial weight behind Alan Kyeremateng. This singular act, proved fatal to the aspiration of the Party from which it has never recovered. This ill-advised decision has, probably, caused an irreparable fragmentation within the party. Thanks to Kufour the Party now has Alan and Nana camps respectively, a situation that could have been avoided. Now that Kufour has been humiliated beyond description as one activist put it, I hope he will learn to remain neutral in future elections within the NPP.

With all due respect, Ex-President Kufour should be told the party would no longer allow him to dictate to it. It is now crystal clear to all that Kufour is only seeking his legacy and not the success of the Party. He has served his time and must move on if he has nothing positive to offer the Party. This Party made him what he is today. Party people toiled and sacrificed to make Kufuor bear the title, "His Excellency the President".

Kufour will only succeed in strengthening Nana Akufo-Addo's standing, clout and influence within the NPP if the amendment proposals are accepted.. Whereas he has kicked against the expansion of the electoral colleges with a mundane argument that what the NPP constitution needs enforcement and not amendment, Nana Akufo-Addo on the other hand has said the decision to get more than 115,000 people, including all polling station officers of the party to play a direct role in choosing the party’s leaders, as very much in line with the NPP tradition of deepening the democratic culture of the party. He also said a greater inclusion of the grass roots will strengthen the Party’s capacity to mobilise the people behind its programme.

A good politician is the one who is able to study, know and feel the pulse of the majority. Yes, the future of the Party belongs to the grassroots. This is the reason many of our party's leaders are for the amendments. The Party’s Electoral Colleges must be expanded.

Ex-President Kufuor indeed has every "right" to participate in the shaping of the future of the NPP, but it is clear he wants a stranglehold on the party even in retirement and that is what the delegates will reject. His perspectives and insights as to how the NPP should be runned has always been based on selfishness and ego.

He should have been aware by now that the Danquah-Donbo-Busia tradition is not the bona fide property of anybody and it is not for sale. Unlike the NDC which has a Founder, Owner and Sole Proprietor and ceremonial President, the NPP has no Founder and has no permanent leader. Ex-President Rawlings is always ranting and raving, beating and sacking people from the NDC because he made all the current NDC leaders what they are today. In fact there is no single member of NDC Rawlings did not make. He indeed plucked some from obscurity, groomed them and today they are playing various roles for the party.

For instance President Atta Mills was a nonentity in politics until Ex-President Rawlings appointed him Vice-President. Vice-President John Mahama was an unknown person until he was appointed Deputy Minister of Communication by Rawlings and that is how he came into limelight. This is not so in the NPP. Some members were even popular than J.A Kufour before he became President.

In fact Ex-President Kufour is so loathed by some NPP members that, a friend told me if Kufour had supported the amendments, he will have kick against them. The former Presidents mistakes were just too many and he continues to make them.

Mustapha Hamid once told me that Ex-President Kufuor in 2005 told him, the Hon. Isaac Asiamah, MP for Atwima Mponua and John Boadu the National Youth Organiser to wait until another President who will like them comes and reward them for their efforts? According to him, the ex-President said this on Thursday 12th May 2005 at about 4:30pm in his office at the Castle in the presence of the then National Chairman, Haruna Esseku and Kwadwo Mpiani his Chief of Staff after they went there to lobby for positions.

Why tell then hardworking Youth this?

The NDC has always worked to bridge the generation gap by including its Youth in the governance process of this country. The party believe the effective role of it's youth in national development in the future depends on their development today and has therefore always seen the need to build a party that would consider and involve it's youth when it comes to decision making. This is sharp contrast to the way Kufour handled the Youth of the NPP. He believed the Youth lack the capacity to engage in any meaningful decision making.

Also from day one of Kufour's rule, he divided the NPP into two. NPP gurus who played significant roles for the party but supported Nana Akufo-Addo during the 2008 Presidential Primaries were sidelined in terms of appointments when the party won in 2000. A few months after being sworn into office in 2001, Kufour brought down Alan Kyerematen from his high ambassadorial perch in the United States to supplant Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku as Minister of Trade and Industry. The rumour then which later turned out to be true, was that Alan had been brought down to understudy and succeed the President when he finally bows out.

To compound his problems, some Ministers deemed unsympathetic were later either reshuffled or booted out and loyal but ineffective and incompetent ones brought in. Worse was to follow with the outright dismissal of some DCE's some of whom were not supporting the 'anointed candidate'.

Today the ruling NDC seem united because those who supported Obed Asamoah, Ekow Spio Gabrah and others and as a result said all sorts of things against Proffesor John Atta Mills have been given appointments based on their competence, loyalty, commitment and contribution to the NDC but not their contribution to Atta Mills' success during the NDC primaries that elected him as flag bearer.

Many NPP members believe Kufour has confirmed that he does not care about the party. At the conference grounds I overheard an NPP activist shout; "We shall continue to punish him. Yes, we shall punish him and anybody associated with his weird moves to impose unacceptable things and people on us. Our party as he well knows now is not for him, neither is it subservient to him".

Elections at the Polling Station, Constituency, Regional and National levels of the Party are will take place soon after the delegate’s conference and I would want to believe Ex-President Kufour will not repeat his same outlandish manoeuvres to get his cabal of self-centred opportunistic sycophants into executive positions. If he makes any such moves, we shall once again defy him in the names of Danquah, Dombo, Busia, Akufo- Addo(late), Jato Kaleo, Abayifa Karbo J.A Braimah, and of course many others some of whom sacrificed everything including their lives so as to get this Tradition where it is today.

Finally, Bill Clinton once said: "We should be remembered by the power of our example, rather than the example of our power".

NPP: Amendments are in the Supreme Interests of the Youth

I have a strong conviction that the NPP Constitutional Amendment proposals are in the supreme interests of the Youth of New Patriotic Party.

Presently no group or special organ of the Party has its own rules and regulations. The amendments will make room for the Youth Wing of the Party to have its own rules and regulations to govern its activities, including the election of its officers, which shall not be inconsistent with the party's Constitution.

The situation where the Youth Organiser is elected by the same electoral college that elects the other National Executive do not serve the interest of the Youth since the old should not decide for the Youth. Presently those who constitute the Youth are not well defined by the NPP Constitution as people as old as 40 years regard themselves as Youth. The amendments will ensure the Youth wing is reorganised and the age limit for the Youth restricted to thirty five (35) years.

Although the Party's branches at the Tertiary Institutions have been serving the party in various ways, they are not recognised or given any role by the constitution. The amendments will ensure that the Party's branches at the Tertiary Institutions will be given much recognition since they will present delegates at various Conferences and Congress of the Party.

The idea of Young Patriots between ages 16 and 18 to be encouraged to identify with the Party towards preparing them for registration, membership of the Party and the voting at general elections will enable the party groom its next generation of leaders at every time.

Roots of Disunity in NPP Getting Firm?

If the roots of disunity getting firm in the NPP are not immediately addressed, the party could be heading for serious problems in the run-up to the 2012 elections. In fact, it could lead to the break-up of the party. 2009 is a year of make or break for the NPP as it embarks on a series of reforms as well as elections at the Polling Station, Constituency, Regional and National levels.

The NPP constitutional amendment proposals are meant to bring about the desire of party members at the grass roots for change, modernisation and the general reform of the party's structures, organisation and operation. It is also aimed at ensuring that we have a unified party with a very good image, better organised, more disciplined and with effective mechanisms for resolving grievances and choosing the right candidates and leaders.

I believe the expansion of the electoral colleges for elections at all levels will prevent aspirants from manipulating delegates through financial and material means. It will also make room for representation from every nook and cranny of the country as well as a broad spectrum of the party's stakeholders. At the last Congress in 2007, there were situations in which husbands, wives, close family relations and cronies were selected as delegates at the detriment of hardworking party members.

The idea is also to add more delegates to the current pool in order to push the number to a more appreciable and respectable one, where it would be difficult for candidates to influence the voting patterns of delegates with money and other goodies and as well eliminate all inconveniences and risks involved in transporting delegates to a single town or city for a National Congress.

Aside all these, I also have a strong conviction that the amendments are in the supreme interests of the Party. The amendments will keep the grassroots of the party more vibrant and also ensure that potential office seekers work extremely hard at all levels of the Party especially at the grassroots. The amendments will also ensure that only true blue party men fill all positions from the Polling Station level to the National offices.

I am therefore surprised these constitutional amendment proposals have all of a sudden within the past few days taken a new twist. Presently some leading figures are being labelled as representing those who support the amendments and those who want the present arrangements retained. Whereas the maintenance of the status quo is rightly or wrongly attributed to ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor, the change advocates are believed rightly or wrongly to be the handiwork of Nana Akufo-Addo.

However, as one of my favourite writers put it; "There appears to be unconfirmed pointers as to the reasons for which such positions are attributed to the gentlemen mentioned above. According to him whereas the status quo advocates state categorically that President Kufuor won both NPP primaries and national elections using that system and therefore sees no reason why it should be changed, change advocates tend to reinforce the notion that the political dynamics of the NPP and by extension Ghana have changed to the extent that it would be foolhardy for anybody to rely on a structure erected for our immediate post-revolution era to be used for organising a party as democratically inclined as the NPP in its march towards the future".

I reason in line with Von Brazi that the NPP faces its greatest threat and challenge to its stability and cohesion because whereas the change advocates need two-thirds majority for their preference to be upheld, the status quo gurus only need a third of the valid votes cast to thwart the efforts of the change apparatchiks. Knowing the intricacies of internal NPP politics and the way issues of this nature usually play out, I dare say that the outcome of this particular struggle would be very dicey. Dicey because the change advocates appear to be prevaricating, not taking a strong, bold and decisive stance on their preference, perhaps in an ambitious attempt to maintain the delicate balance and cohesion of the party now that being in opposition is testing the loyalty, strength and commitment of the rank and file. Many people I personally know, and who vouched for the amendments have all of a sudden back tracked and are suddenly silent while some are calling for a stop to the amendments.

In fact the two main blocs within the party have resorted to divisive, surreptitious and unscrupulous tactics to win the support of delegates. One of such tactics is the use of text messages. For some time now, despicable and damaging text messages are being circulated to some NPP Executives and potential party delegates aimed at destroying each other. Two of such text messages being forwarded to delegates in the Ashanti Region and which the recipients allege are from the camp of Nana Akufo-Addo reads:

"Alan wants to split our party, but we are not going to allow him to do so- the Activists" and "Yaw Amankwa, Asare Bediato and Adu Asabre have collected GH100,000( 1 billion old Ghana Cedis) from J.A. Kufour to work against the amendments, they are crooks, vote for amendments". A widely circulated text messages which seeks to tarnish the image and reputation of Nana Akufo-Addo, the 2008 Flag bearer of the NPP was forwarded to me by a party executive reads;

"The NDC has naked pictures of Nana Addo with women in bed so don't push him for your personal interest. They have a picture of him smoking wee. Don't think that Ghanaians don't know that some of Nana's friends are drug people and also as NDC is now in government they can find faults of Nana during his tenure in office as Minister".

In fact there are other messages that are so unprintable that I will not dare present them for the reading public. Wild allegations and rumour continue to be peddled at the very lowest and highest circles within the party about how Nana Akufo-Addo misused funds for the 2008 campaign. The most worrying allegation is that ex-President J A Kufour personally handed $ 35 million to Nana Akufo-Addo for the campaign but the money was not used for its intended purpose.

Some of the stories going round as corroborated by Gabby Asare Otchere Darko are that, Nana Akufo-Addo used 3 million ]UK pounds ($5m) of campaign money to buy a property at Sloane Square, on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea. Other stories are that his brother Bumpty Akufo-Addo has bought a house at Mayfair, Central London and his cousin Gabby has also used campaign money to buy a mansion at Cantonments-Accra. There are numerous allegations against some family members and close allies of Akufo-Addo.

The latent danger and fear for the NPP is that these clandestine activities further polarizes and deepens the party's problems. I am tempted to agree that those who try to tarnish the reputations of others must always hold themselves in readiness for appropriate responses to their methods of operations only that in their unfortunate circumstances, they have no control over the timing, format or intensity of the appropriateness of the response that would be visited upon their unnecessary belligerence. Should it come to this, what would be the consequences to the NPP?

What is baffling to me is that, early this year there were reports that ex-President Kufour and Nana Akufo-Addo held a series of strategic meetings on the way forward for the party and top on the agenda of the meetings which had some top echelons of the party as well as close allies of the two leading NPP figures was how to keep the party united in opposition, strengthen its structures across the country and sharpen its arsenal to win back power in 2012. We were also told the two men also discussed among other issues how to avoid the kind of unhealthy fierce competition that bedevilled the party's primaries in 2007. In fact this news was hailed by the rank and file but the question is; What is the outcome of these talks and how has the party benefited from the unity talks?

One could only conclude that some of our party's leaders talk and present themselves in public as if they want unity but under the 'cover of darkness' do several negative things to cause more instability and division in the party.

What sort of party are we in?

Arguments against the creation of the proposed "Savannah Region" are flawed.

Since my last feature on the creation of the proposed second region in the Northern Region, I have received various reactions on this issue. The positive comments are overwhelming but I would like to dwell on the arguments some advanced against the creation such a region.

There are those who have argued that the creation of a new region out of the Northern Region should be in the interest of all northerners and not seen as the agenda of any group of people. I reason in line with them. Gonjaland people are not agitating for an ethnic region. That is why they even suggested the region should be called Savannah Region but not "Gonja" or "Gonjaland "Region like the case of the Brong-Ahafo or Ashanti Regions.

Perhaps it would be useful for those who argue against the creation of a new region in the Northern Region to pause a while to reflect on the reasons why the then Upper Region clamoured for the partitioning of the region into what is now known as the Upper East and West Regions even though as that region was much smaller in terms of both size and population if compared to the Northern Region. The other ethnic groups have nothing to lose by if another region is created but on the contrary a lot to gain. It is a truism that without the tacit support of other ethnic groups in the Northern Region, such a request would be a mirage.

Others believe the issue should be discussed in close doors and under cover. I totally disagree with those who are of this opinion. We must publicly and frankly discuss the issue in order to get the merits and demerits. It is simply about development but nothing else. There is nothing mischievous about wanting people to know why the need for the "Savannah' Region.

People have asked why it should be the Yagbonwura (Traditional Ruler of Gonjaland) is the one who would petition Government to create a new region out of the northern region and that this suggests that the King is demanding a region to be created based on tribal lines. They also argue that the division should not be based on petitions from a single chief or demands from a tribe.

This is true but those who argue this way are not being fair to Gonjas. Before Regions like the Brong-Ahafo and Upper West were created, who petitioned Government? It’s obvious the Chiefs. In 2006, it was the Chiefs of the Northern Volta led by the President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, Togbe Gabusu with support from the Paramount Chief of Gbi Traditional Area, Togbe Agboka VI and the Paramount Chief of Leklebi Traditional Area that sent a fresh petition to Government requesting for the creation of a separate region in the northern part of Volta to be called "Oti Region".

In any case many Youth groups, Civil Society Organisations, Pressure Groups, Opinion leaders and Politicians (including the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana) have come out to support the call for the proposed region to be carved out of the Northern Region

It must be explained that the people from Gonjaland comprise of autonomous ethnic groups like the Vagla, Safalba, Nchorba, Brifor, Lobi, Hanga, Tampulma, Mmara, Bartige, Mo, Pantra, Mibor, Norme, Nawuri and Nchumuru who are all privy to the petition. Our agitation should therefore not be misconstrued and misinterpreted as an ethnic group asking for a Region. Far from that! If not Gonjas would not be lobbying Nanumbas who have also been marginalised for far too long to join them in the agitation for a new region. The other ethnic groups that might fall on the geographical boundaries of the proposed region has nothing to lose if another region is created but on the contrary a lot to gain.

There is also this erroneous impression of the people of Gonjaland agitating for a region because they now have a Vice-President. A friend recently questioned me why we have become louder in our agitation for a region. He told me that the fact that the Vice- President is a Gonja is not a license to secure a region for Gonjas. My answer was simple; 'Our agitation for a region to be created from the present Northern Region started before John Mahama was born'. In fact there were several petitions from successive Yagbonwuras before John Mahama even thought of contesting as a Member of Parliament from the area.

One of the most ridiculous argument is the question of which of the towns in Gonjaland qualifies to be Municipal capital not to talk of a Regional Capital. Bawku was far bigger than Bolgatanga but Bolgatanga was chosen as capital of the then Upper Region by President Kwame Nrumah's government. Likewise Berekum was bigger than Sunyani but was chosen as the capital of the Brong-Ahafo Region by Nkrumah. Sometimes factors such as the volume of economic activities taking place in a town, the potential of a town to develop into a city and the strategic position of a town also adds to its advantages in becoming a Regional capital.

There is a strange argument that Gonjaland with a population of 440,976 in its Six Districts out of 1,820,806 for the Northern Region (as quoted by the 2000 Population and Housing Census), has fewer people and that it may not be altogether feasible to grant a region based on its boundaries. The Counter argument I wish to put across is that Gonjaland's population (440,976) is just a little below the 576,583 quoted for the Upper West Region. If Nanumbaland's two districts; Nanumba North and Nanumba South, with a population of 144,278 are added to Gonjaland to form the geographical boundaries of the proposed region, then its population will be 685,154 which far exceed the population of the Upper West Region and just a little below the Upper East Region with a population of 920,089.

Moreover, I find it difficult to understand why both the Upper East and West regions with a population of 1,496,672 is not a single region but Northern Region alone with a population of 1,820,806 (324,134 more than the two Upper regions) remain undivided.

I am also of the conviction that population alone cannot and should not be the justification of not given serious consideration to the creation of a second region out of the present Northern Region. It is a well known fact that parts of the world such as Siberia in the then Soviet Union, the Western Provinces of China, the Amazon in the Brazil, Alaska in the United States of America, self administration was granted to help accelerate development in these areas.

Let us all therefore agree that limited attention has always been given to the development needs of some parts of Northern Region by successive governments. Infrastructure development projects by governments such as roads, water, agriculture development, telecommunication, primary health care, educational facilities, and access to the mass media and so on in their part of the region appear not to have been given the kind of importance like other areas.

There are so many problems responsible for the slow development of the Northern Region and one of the ways of ameliorating these problems is the creation of a new region. The state of the roads in the Region is generally bad. The only stretch of roads that is tarred (first class) are the Buipe through Tamale to Bolgatanga stretch, a distance of about 270 Km and Tamale to Yendi stretch. Most roads are not motor-able in the rainy season thus hampering economic activities, tourism and other basic health programs.

Many of the most important tourist’s sites in the country are found in Gonjaland of the Northern Region. Mention can be made of the Game Reserve at Mole, Bui National Park, the Ancient Mosque and Mystic Stone at Larabanga (West Gonja), Ndewura Jakpa's Tomp at Old Buipe (Central Gonja), the Slave Market and Wells at Salaga (West Gonja), as well as the Hippopotamus Sanctuary at Ntereso and Royal Mausoleum for Gonja Kings at Mankuma (Bole). Why are they not being developed? It is because the roads are not motorable.

The area could boast of lands with mineral deposits. The Barite at Daboya, Brine deposits at river bed of the White Volta and Gold at Bombir, Bauxite at Digma, Diamond at Fimbu, (West Gonja), Gold at Dakurpe and Tinga (Bole), Limestine at Buipe (Central Gonja),Gold at can be tapped for the socio-economic development of the area and the country as a whole. These are not being mined in commercial quantities as a result of neglect.

Farming the main source of livelihood for Ghanaians could potentially prove a strong backbone for the economic development of the new region since the natural vegetation is predominantly guinea savannah It would also be a bread basket of the country as far as the production of food and cash crops such as maize, yam, millet, sheanut, cashew, cotton and others are concerned. Livestock animals such as cattle, sheep and goats can be reared in large quantities. . But how is this being handled?

The sheer size of the Region is itself a problem. The Northern Region is by far the largest in Ghana. It is about five times the size of Upper East; two times the size of Ashanti and God knows how many regions of the size of the Greater Accra can be carved out of Northern Region. I think that the Northern Region is too big to be controlled from Tamale; it is too big to be one administrative division. The reason some Regional Ministers in the past considered the region as ungovernable. It needs to be divided into two manageable regions in place of this one amorphous and unwieldy region.

If all the boundaries of Gonjaland alone for instance were retained or considered as a region, it would have been bigger than most administrative regions in Ghana. Even with the reduction as some parts are in the Brong-Ahafo region, Gonjaland and its Six Districts with a total of 36,783 sq. kms are still bigger than as many as eight (8) regions in the country. These regions are Ashanti (24,390.59 sq.kms), Western (22,096 sq.kms), Volta (20,570.59 sq. kms.), Upper West (18,476.59 sq. kms.), Upper East (8,818.59 sq.kms) and Greater Accra (4,540.59 sq.kms).

I strongly believe that the creation of a new region in Northern Region would solve these problems and also ensure the rapid realisation of government's decentralization policy and equitable distribution of the country's resources in line with the Directive Principle of State Policy as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The creation of a new region would also remove all bottlenecks that impede the smooth administration and development of parts of Northern Region and therefore bring about an accelerated development as well as administrative efficiency.

The Northern Region is richly endowed with the natural resources that should make it one of the richest regions in the country but its size is a problem in realising its dreams. Indeed the region has the capacity to be the breadbasket of the nation. The Northern Region is unique in many ways and would need a different approach, an accelerated development plan that would make it like other parts of the country. By doing this, we can make this part of the country attractive to people to settle as well as do business. The Northern Region lacks many things especially industrial and economic projects. It needs to be divided so that the limited resources, in the north will be effectively used.

I hope that for the sake of unity, even development and equitable distribution of resources, this suggestion would take a national dimension and looked into.