|
| J.H. Mensah Lashes Out At Aspirants |
1/8/2007 |
|
By James Addy & Samuel Amoako, Koforidua
Monday, 08 January 2007
MR J.H. Mensah, former Senior Minister and Member of Parliament for Sunyani East, at the weekend took a swipe at the large number of presidential aspirants reported to be campaigning to be elected flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party for the 2008 election.
He recalled that at the beginning of his second term in office, President Kufuor admonished his colleagues not to jump too early into a race for the presidency.
He asked them instead to concentrate on giving Ghana the best governance it has ever had, as a prelude to Election 2008.
Regrettably, that advice was not sufficiently heeded, he said in a speech at the start of the party’s annual delegates conference in Koforidua on Saturday.
Speaking on the topic: Moving forward in unity, he said "this situation has threatened to get out of hand and our party’s image has undoubtedly suffered damage."
"For what kind of a united team can the NPP present to this country when not only the eleven players on the field but also all the reserves on the benches want to be captain?" he asked.
Mr Mensah said that although the party constitution says that "every member is entitled to present himself to be our candidate, but surely it does not say that everybody should present himself."
He said fortunately, the NPP is not an orphan on the streets to be taken at the whim of any individual. "The party has rules and it has elders. These should guide us to focus our energies on the right priorities for every moment," he stressed.
Mr Mensah said the second most important task is to build up the party machine.
"The NPP must get into sharp, battle ready condition at every level, especially at the grass-roots of the 22,000 polling stations."
Mr Mensah said at the end of this year, in accordance with the party constitution, it shall hand over this machine and all its resources to the candidate that is chosen to lead the NPP into Election 20008.
"Until then, the priority is not the person but the message and the machine."
He said "some people want to put the cart before the horse. Instead of building the party, they are dissipating energy on such absurd arguments like what some aspirants said or did not say when they were in university 30 years ago. Does that kind of talk win an election?
"Some say we need a man with strong muscles. For what, to break stones in the Castle or to have another boxing match in the cabinet room-again?"
He went on: "some are said to be handsome and are oozing charisma.
"But that is strictly a problem for them and their wives in chambers."
Mr Mensah said what the NPP needs is a party machine which can keep the power that it won in 2001 and a message to inspire the nation about our candidate so that "they will work their hearts out to assure NPP victory at the polls."
Turning to the party activists called the "foot soldiers," he said they might have enjoyed fruitful visitations" from some aspirants but "when the time comes, make sure that your delegates to the nominating convention reflect in their vote not the fruits of those visitations, but your honest views about the party leader whom you know and want to follow to victory in 2008."
He said the candidate to be chosen at the end of the year should be able to win the confidence and votes of the majority of the Ghanaian electorate especially the swing voters.
"This requires that the vision and message which he projects must persuade the majority and their future and that of their families will be safe in his hands, and will continue to improve steadily.
"We shall not gamble or guess on this matter: We shall follow the hard facts," he said.
Mr Mensah said for a candidate to win confidence of Ghanaian, implies that "our candidate must show solid evidence of accomplishment, a track record."
He said: "all of us who will have to work with our future president must be honestly able to vouch before the people of Ghana that he can successfully run an enterprise as difficult, complex and demanding as the Ghana project.
"This is not a beauty contest. It is about managing the destiny of an entire people," he added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
