The race for flag bearer for Election 2024, in the NPP, seem to be taking the similar wrong course which made the Party fail to “Break the Eight” in 2008. Some party members decided to destroy the then two front runners, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen.
While Alan was perceived to be the favourite choice of H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor, some party gurus, especially in the National Executive Committee succeeded in painting the Gentle Giant black in the eyes of the party faithful, so as to make Alan a wrong choice.
As for then candidate Akufo-Addo, whatever he might have doneto his some of his own political party members was difficult to unearth. In 2006, a chief director, volunteered to answer a question, directed to his minister, about who should succeed JAK, he exploded with these words, “If we choose Nana Addo, then we will institutionalize immorality, we will legalize it.” He then went on to say things about Nana Addo, which my lap top key board is refusing to allow them typed out.
Then, SMS messages started coming, some repeating what this chief director said. One thing that kept coming over and over again was that Nana Addo was a drug baron. This message was traced to one of the aspirants and I must state here that it was not from Alan, Aliu or Dan Botwe, I am done on this, thank you, very much.
This wrong and wicked allegation from within the NPP, against that fine gentleman got to the NDC and Rawlings coined the name “Coke,” for Nana Addo. This might have seriously affected his chances, as NPP went into a Presidential Primaries more divided than ever. In the end it took the NDC only less than 41,000 votes to snatch victory from the NPP’s hands.
After two more attempts, Nana Addo finally won the presidential election and went on to win re-election and when all seemed poise for him to be the first president of this republic, to handover power to a president-elect from his own party, two things are attempting to shut down this dream, the world economic crunch and internal hostilities within his own NPP.
Instead of the NPP members gathering facts and telling Ghanaians that our current economic situation is not the doing of this government, with the IMF confirming this, and that the huge monies borrowed are being put into good use, with roads, factories etc, etc, coming up, some have decided that the best way to go is to destroy the two frontrunners in the race.
The NDC are known to successfully defend lies, but the NPP cannot defend the truth, what a shame.
Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, easily seen as the leader in the race of nine fine gentlemen, has been seriously the most bashed among all the others.
When he came out with a national broadcast, announcing his resignation and intention to go for the flag bearer slot of the NPP and hopefully win the 2024 Presidential Elections and gave some ideas of how to transform this country and its economy, it was mostly some NPP members who saw everything wrong in this. The NDC who asked questions about the constitutionality of Alan ceding to Nana Addo in 2007, are today not much bothered about Alan’s broadcast.
One person claiming to be called Nana Osei Boateng, with his designation as polling station chairman in the Ejisu constituency in the Ashanti region, was among the first to attack. This coward feared to reveal which polling station he was from.
He chose to, among other things, accuse Alan of disrespecting the Party’s rule by coming out to declare his intention before the Party gave the go-ahead. He called this MISCONDUCT.
The gross hypocrisy of Nana Osei Boateng is that he failed to tell Ghanaians where he was and what he did when some of aspirants started putting up billboards in 2021, to announce their intentions and some party gurus declaring for aspirants of their choice.
And clearly without understanding the message and import of Alan’s broadcast, Nana Osei Boateng is saying Alan was running down the Nana Addo’s administration and exhibiting lack of commitment to the government he once served.
If Alan were to show lack of commitment, then there would not have been that many new factoriesin Ghana, unless Nana Osei Boateng is telling us that the 1D1F project was a flop. And this is a message he is offering to the NDC to attack the NPP on, after the presidential primaries.
Another article dropped out on social media entitled, ALAN K’s GTP: A COCKTAIL OF PLAGIARIZED NPP MANIFESTO & POLICIES, DEFICIENCY IN PLAN, AND ADMISSION OF FAILURE (PART 1)allegedly authored on January 16, 2023, by one William Fiifi Wilson of Benya Street, Elmina, Central Region.
I used the word allegedly because the write-up had all the ingredients of one man called Shareef, who claims to be an NPP stalwart, but only seeks to produce articles to cast aspersions against Hon. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen and indirectly hurting the party.
This whole article, with deep apology to readers, is a work of a simpleton and that is what Shareef loves showing off with.
In the first place, what is wrong with building on foundations constructed by your predecessor, even if you believe you could construct them differently?
Alan never said the foundations were wrong, he only said, he could have done things differently.And to do things differently in no way mean the original was wrongly done. Simple English here!
An important question to ask here is that, is it a show of incompetence and acceptance of wrong ways of doing things, if a president seeking re-elections comes out with a manifesto quite different from what he earlier used to first win power?
Can’t the president decide to do things differently from how he did before, if he felt that will achieve more results? For example, a road can be constructed through a tunnel in a hill or around the hill, and the desired result of connecting one part of the country to another will be achieved. This is common sense.
This NPP regime has and is undergoing unprecedented landmark projects, roads, expansion of food production as in PFJ and fisheries, digitalization and 1D1F, among others. For over five years these projects have been the source of strength for growth in the economy.
In fact, every Ghanaian knows too well that the Nana Addo’s administration put the economy on the road to recovery with good results showing from 2017 until 2021, after which the bubble burst.
For four continuous years single digit inflation was registered until the global economic crunch due to Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war set in. This is the reason for our current economic situation today and this was confirmed by the IMF.
Even in these harsh economic times due to global reasons, we do not have dumsor, no queues for fuel and many others that the previous government could not achieve even when there was no global economic crunch.
In this regard, how can any Ghanaian in his or her right frame of mind, say that… “Alan Kyerematen has demonstrated through his own words that the lack of effectiveness, creativity, and practicality of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where he has served as a Minister for six consecutive years (6), is the reason for our economy’s return to the IMF and the instability of our exchange rate, which is primarily due to the challenge in domestic production and export of manufactured goods through value addition to our commodities?”
And for this coming from a self-acclaimed NPP person shows how some members of this party will consciously and willingly destroy the fortunes of this party, if their choices are not considered.
Alan as Trade and Industry minister spearheaded this 1D1F, and built more and more factories and transformed some existing ones from 2017/2018 to date.
And at least over 200,000 Ghanaians are now directly employed in these factories, but this is lost on such blind hateful NPP persons who do not know that by condemning 1D1F, they are condemning a strong campaign message for the party in 2024, even if their choice of aspirant becomes the flagbearer.
How can any NPP person in his right sense, condemn 1D1F? – Something that even the NDC are well calculated in talking against.
To Shareef and people who think like him, when Alan said “we must focus more on getting things done than talking” since “Ghana is gradually becoming a NATO country – No Action Talk Only,” it is obviously people like Shareef and those who think like him that he is directly referred to. All they know is to condemn without providing any solution to what they claim is the problem.
And it is very true that our politics in Ghana is too divisive, since no one will see anything good in the person on the other side of the divide.
It is quite sad that at the time that all NPP members must be focus and say only good things about their choice of aspirants so that the party remains united, before, during and after the primaries, we have people who think they can be considered part of the process if they destroy those contesting against their choice. They fail to realise that their irresponsibility will hurt the party, like it did in 2008.
Now, there is this issue about Alan resigning from the NPP in 2008 and some of his opponents are asking why is he vying for the flag bearer in 2023.
Not wasting time on what actually happened, I only have a few questions for such jaundiced minded persons. My questions to them are, Alan resigned, but how come he was an integral part of the Campaign 2008?
How come he was allowed to contest for flag bearer in 2010 and 2014 and failing to win, how come he became an integral part of Campaign 2012 and 2016? Was the NPP accepting a non NPP member to contest for flag bearer slot for 2012 and 2016? Is that what Shareef is implying when he kept posting this resignation thing over and over on social media?
I can go on and on, however I will come back next week with a message for those who despise Bawumia, Akoto, Agyarko and the others.
Hon Daniel Dugan.
