A Pressure Group affiliated to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Power Brokers has expressed worry over the performance of the NPP Parliamentary Candidates in the just ended 2020 election.
According to the group, it is deeply concerned about the party’s narrow escape in the 2020 parliamentary election, and has therefore pointed fallouts that need to be addressed with the swiftness it deserves.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, December 5, 2021, spokesperson of Power Brokers, Abdul Aziz Ziblim said after dissecting the NPP’s performance in the parliamentary election, the group identified that imposition of candidates in some constituencies, failure to effectively separate party operations from government and lack of respect and appreciation for grassroot supporters by government appointees and parliamentary candidates were the cause of the party’s abysmal performance.
He noted also that hoarding and diversion of campaign resources by some Parliamentary candidates and party executives, over concentration on wooing supporters of NDC to the neglect of NPP grassroot supporters, poor job done by Communication officers and people who were trusted to propagate the works of government, battle for supremacy between party executives and parliamentary candidates, lost of vigilance amongst others were the cause of NPP’s performance.
He said the Power Brokers has therefore recommended that the party leadership immediately put in place a succession plan to identify and groom people as potential party executives in preparation towards election 2024.
“These people must be given the requisite training on campaigning, election monitoring systems and the management of party and government relationship,” he said.
The party, he said must also put in place innovative systems to ensure sustainable funding for future campaigns.
“An approach for mobilising resources to fund both the presidential and Parliamentary elections in all constituencies must be established. Particular attention must be paid to maximising our revenue mobilisation, and fund allocation as well as monitoring how candidate utilize allocation resources to advance the party’s campaign agenda,” he said.
Mr Ziblim alleged that many of the people who caused the party to lose seats and votes across the country have already assembled in Accra and are moving around the corridors of power, looking for new appointments.
“These appointees must be told to their face that they are not the only competent people in the party. Their time is up and another crop of party people must get into the arena and demonstrate what they can also offer,” he said.
Meanwhile, he suggested on behalf of the group that appointments in the next government must be drawn from party ranks and file and should be strictly NPP business.
“The party grassroot members must be of prime focus in the next set of appointments to give life to the statement made by the president in Cape coast in 2017,” he said.
The group, he said, “Will fiercely resist any attempt to deny deserving party supporters the opportunity to grow because this will be a recipe for disaster and set an agenda for collapse of the party in the near future.”
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori