NDP tours northern Ghana … Promises participatory democracy

From Musah Umar Farouq, Wa 

The interim chairman of the National Democratic Party, Dr. Rockson Manboa, has indicated the readiness of the party to introduce what he termed participatory democracy into the Ghanaian body politic, in order to make politics more attractive to the Ghanaian populace.

According to him, in the history of the country, none of the 23 political parties in active operation was practising participatory democracy, hence the decision by the NDP to give it meaning in Ghanaian politics.

Dr. Manboah, who was speaking in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital, as part of tour of the three northern regions of the country, described the tour of the Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions as very successful and impressive.

He described participatory democracy as a form of government where the ordinary people are actively involved in the decision making process in running the affairs of the country, contrary to what pertains in Ghana, where just after winning an election, a political party decides to impose itself, and decides the development pattern for the people.

This situation, he said, was quite unfortunate and unacceptable, the reason for which the NDP, as a party, would want to introduce participatory democracy.

He said the major parties – NDC and NPP – have introduced cabal and elitism into the country’s political system, which does not support growth and development, and called for the elimination of such situations.

Dr. Manboah said the NDP would introduce the Community Organization Bureau (COB) concept, which will be in the form of the Israeli type of Kibbutz, where the youth who are not employed would be engaged in profit making ventures, with the profits being shared among as startup capital, instead of allowing the youth to sell dog chains, as in Ghana.

He said the youth of the country have, through a research conducted by the NDP, identified with the party, since the youth are fed up with the massive corruption that has bedeviled the Ghanaian society, by sending the country back to the 1978 ugly era.

The party chairman called for the immediate arrest of the National Organiser of the NDC, Mr. Yaw Boateng Gyan, for his alleged plans to infiltrate the national security apparatus with alleged support from the Finance Ministry.

He hrevealed that the NDP’s Brong Ahafo regional interim chairman had been attacked by unidentified people. He said based on the alleged Boateng Gyan tapes, the NDP had strengthened its security network.

Touching on the issue of the flagbearer of the NDP, he said they would be much privileged if the former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, picks nomination forms to contest and lead the party and dispense with her rich experience as a former first lady.

In the event that the former first lady declines to pick nomination forms, Dr. Manboah, disclosed that many of the former NDC ministers and parliamentarians, and sitting MPs were more than willing to join the NDP, except that they were only biding their time.

Dr. Manboah said the NDP was in Kumasi recently with former president Rawlings to grace the occasion of the NDC Special Congress, and said the speech delivered by Rawlings was targeted at Ghanaians, rather than the NDC.

He said the NDP would soon open nominations at the regional and constituency levels for the party to organise a congress to elect its flagbearer

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