CPP leadership sets out agenda for Elections 2012
The new leadership of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) on Tuesday set-out party developmental priorities to revamp it to stand as a viable choice in Elections 2012.
The ten-point priority agenda includes increasing the visibility and profile of the party; reconstituting the Central Committee; launching a Membership Drive; delivering party paraphernalia to create visibility and polling station organisation.
The others; to strengthen the Party at all levels, open offices in all constituencies and region as needed, hold outstanding regional congresses, conclude outstanding legal disputes; and fundraising in the name of the party for the party.
Ms Yaba Samia Nkrumah, CPP National Chairperson and leader, stated this at the leadership’s maiden media encounter in Accra to update journalists on the party’s plans and activities and also break the leadership’s silence on certain calculated attempts to discredit it.
She explained that the National Executive Committee was also formalising the formation of the remaining Committees as well as appointing its respective Chairpersons.
Ms Nkrumah said the Committees had a mandate to work on the party’s ideological clarity to sharpen its message and make it relevant in modern local and global circumstances and challenges.
“It needs to be made clear that CPP stands for regaining control over our economy so that we can transform it to serve the interests of our people,” she said.
The CPP National Leader outlined a major outreach programme does involve regional tour from December to sit and discuss with members the priorities and the ways in which the new leadership intend to galvanise the party for Elections 2012.
On media campaign by Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, a Flag bearer aspirant, Ms Nkrumah described it as a negative, indiscipline, selfishness and an attempt to impose a course of action on the whole party by an individual.
She said the orchestrated efforts started with a spate of negative media publicity; stressing “if these are indeed concerns of genuine party members why should they be directed at the media rather than to the national executives?
“How does maligning our leadership in the public domain serve the interests of the Party? By the rules that govern our party as indeed all organisations, grievances have to be addressed internally, in the first instance.
“In recent days, this systematic and orchestrated attempt to undermine the authority and agenda of the Leadership has culminated in a threat to convene an emergency NEC without recourse to the leadership, including announcing on radio and Television the date for the supposed NEC.
“Is this not an act of indiscipline which is meant to discredit the party? Particularly as all other presidential aspirants are prepared to help the new leadership prepare the ground for the congress to be held in the first quarter of next year?
Ms Nkrumah noted that “the CPP party is not divided and what is perceived as division, is what I as Leader and Chairperson consider individualistic course of action that in the past has only got our presidential candidate 1.3 per cent of the national vote. This is unacceptable.
“We, the new leadership of the party were elected to advance strategies that will make the party a credible political force and we wish to reiterate here we will not waver in this task.
“We will not be stampeded into taking actions that do not advance the interests of the party. Let me make it clear that NEC cannot convene because our National Executive Council is not fully constituted yet.
She said the CPP delegates agreed through consensus that there should be a six months’ interval between the congress to elect national officers and the election of the flag bearer.
“Organising a congress takes time and as we all saw recently, the National Congress to elect the National executives that was supposed to take place in March 2011 was postponed several times and finally took place in September of this year. This means that to organize a successful congress, the new executives will need at least a few months before our next congress,” she said.
Source: GNA