*Party in Northern Region reiterates its 10 points agenda
Story: Atta Kwaku BOADI
The Progress People’s Party ( PPP) claims since its formation in 2012 it has been been at forefront of the fight against democratic dictatorship imposed by the 1992 constitution.
According to the party, for Ghana to make real democratic progress, certain portions of the constitution ought to be amended to share power with the people and tie the hands of executives to the ideals of the nation.
“We believe that for Ghana to make real democratic progress, certain portions of the constitution have to be amended to share power with the people and tie the hands of executives to the ideals of the nation”, the vice Northern Regional Chairman of the party, Ibrahim Issahaku Nayi said at a press conference on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
He noted that the had been very vocal and in fact, a lead in the enhancement of the assert declaration regime to be more transparent instead of the current opaque form which “provides an escape route for the politicians”
The party’s Northern regional vice chairman maintained that the greatest demonstration of corruption fight commitment was by decoupling the attorney general’s office from the Minister ofJustice.
This, he said, would let the Attorney General continue to be the government lawyer whiles the minister of justice would be the people’s lawyer with a guaranteed security of tenure and appointed under a competitive public commission supervision.
Full Statement by PPP
PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE’S PARTY (PPP) – NORTHERN REGION
PRESS CONFERENCE READ BY MR. IBRAHIM ISSAHAKU NAYI, VICE REGIONAL CHAIRMAN ON THE 8TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2022 AT THE FORECOURT OF SUHUPELLI RADIO – TAMALE ON THE OCCASION OF THE PARTY’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY.
Let me start by welcoming you all to this important programme. It is a programme designed in line with a nationwide scheduledactivities to mark the 10th anniversary of the great PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE’S PARTY. This was designed to take place in the month of February but for circumstances beyond our control, it is coming off today. Thank you once again for making time to be part of the programme.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Progressive People’s Party was formed in February, 2012 by a group of like-minded Ghanaians led by our founder, Dr. papa Kwesi Nduom. The party was formed in responds to the obvious demand to re-invent Ghana, salvage Ghana from a polarized political system entrenched by the 1992 constitution of Ghana, close the consistent and progressive widening gap between the haves and the have nots, sky rocketing corruption, deception and heightened insecurity in the country. These among others account for the retarded growth and development of our country, Ghana, the reason for which many are frustrated and are also the foundation upon which the indiscipline in the country is rooted.
Friends of the media, ladies and gentlemen, the famous statement of the founder of the nation right after independent that ‘the black man is capable of managing his own affairs’ is being greatly undermined by the current trends in the country. We have as a country through our current elected leaders grossly demonstrated either lack of understanding, commitment or a complete disregard of the ideals of the founders of the nation. The impunity with which this is done and the passion of setting a cruel agenda to create, loot and share as the new norm cannot be allowed to continue.
The progressive peoples party was therefore formed as an alternative option to the Ghanaian people with an ambitious target of winning elections. The party contested the 2012, 2016 and 2020 general elections and performed creditably well. Its inception as a political movement has helped shaped the dynamics of politics in the country. The party has remained formidable and poised for action to liberate Ghanaians from the hands of a toxic winner-takes-all lovers who have ruled Ghana since 1993 to date.
The party has been at forefront of the fight against democratic dictatorship imposed by the 1992 constitution. We believe that for Ghana to make real democratic progress, certain portions of the constitution have to be amended to share power with the people and tie the hands of executives to the ideals of the nation.
The party has been very vocal and in fact, a lead in the enhancement of the assert declaration regime to be more transparent instead of the current opaque form which provides an escape route for the politicians
The party maintains that the greatest demonstration of corruption fight commitment is by decoupling the attorney general’s office from the minister of justice. The attorney general will continue to be the government lawyer whiles the minister of justice will be the peoples lawyer with a guaranteed security of tenure and appointed under a competitive public commission supervision.
The party has made numerous calls and in fact, took upon itself to legally enforce the compulsory component of the free basic education. Politicians of today have conveniently decoupled the free and compulsory components into two and are only pursuing the free component as opposed to what the constitution mandates them to do. For a comprehensive achievement of the FCUBE program, the compulsory aspect must receive equal attention as done by the free component.
The party’s surprise performance in the 2012 and 2016 general elections attracted the attention of the nation and getting rooted in the minds of the electorates. This new push to offer an alternative choice as a third force in the country is to advance the course of democracy through trusted, pragmatic and incorruptible leadership for the future of our country.
We must however state that, the current duopoly system that has been forced on us is equally fighting so hard against the possibility of a third force in the country. They erect barriers and develop deliberate schemes to perpetuate their stay in power. They have become so intolerant and also, monetized the political system against the interest of the weaker parties. Many of our good men and women who have broken the barriers of service to humanity are being wrongly targeted, they have suffered because of their passion for equal opportunity and decent live for the ordinary man on the street. Fear, intimidation and political witch-hunting are the strongest reward for their political opponents who vow to change the narrative.
Mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, our nation is blessed with strong human resource, arable lands, timber, cocoa, shea nuts, gold and other related minerals, oil, salt among other natural endowments and yet, the ordinary man on the street, the kayaye, the shoe shine, the hair dresser, the carpenter and the sympathetic farmers are bearing the brant of the mismanagement of these resources by our leaders. Sadly, whiles these vulnerable groups are suffocating and gasping for breath under the scorching sun for mother Ghana, the elected few are busily dissipating these resources and enriching themselves. These rulers erect schemes to remain untouchable even as they prey upon the ruled, weakening institutions of state for easy manipulation and deploying divide and rule to gain control, with the 1992 constitution providing an escape rout for the powerful in the society. Sadly, Ladies and gentlemen, this is why politicians shield themselves by constantly quoting the 1992 constitution of Ghana.
THE PPP AGENDA
True progress cannot be obtained without a unified Ghana. The PPP is asking for your vote so that we can create an inclusive and united Ghanaian society called TEAM GHANA. It is this national unity that will reinvent Ghana. We promise to build one solid Team, Team-Ghana by reinventing our Ghanaian selves, our attitudes and our way of life. The PPP has arrived on time amidst these massive changes to the Ghanaian nation.
Our orientation and core believe as a political party about the world we live in are progressive. This means we believe in broad based human progress that is felt by the people. We believe that under our leadership , Ghana shall move from a third world nation to a first world nation by working with a great sense of duty and urgency within one generation. Ours is simple, but yet powerful agenda. We have resisted the temptation to frighten Ghanaians with a fat manifesto which cannot be implemented in Ghana. Ghana already has the directive principles of state policies in our constitution to guide our agenda, policies and programs. To that end, the PPP seeks the opportunity to implement an efficient agenda for accelerated change that is built on INCORRUPTIBLE LEADERSHIP, HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION AND JOBS. We will implement the agenda in the spirit of inclusiveness that will enable us to use the best Ghanaians, full participation of women, youth and people living with disabilities, and above all a leadership that is incorruptible. This will lay adequate foundation for the hospitality of our 10-point agenda.
WAY FORWARD
We cannot continue to blame ourselves for the mistakes of the past. We were deceived, we were made to believe they are competent and that they were incorruptible leaders. We as a political party urge the government to be humble enough to apologize to the Ghanaian people for that great deception. The usual two steps forward and one step backward has been altered to two steps forward and two steps backwards if not worse. Insensitivity and hatred have assumed alarming state in today’s Ghana leading to the collapse of many indigenous Ghanaian-owned companies, increasing unemployment, insecurity and frustration. Many of our country men and women have lost their lives as a result whiles many others have sustained permanent degree of impairment in one way or the other. We remind government of its social pact with the good people of the country to make live meaningful by way of improving upon their living conditions.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is becoming abundantly clear to all of us that government is overwhelmed by their own economic mess and needs serious help. We call on all Ghanaians; the religious leaders, civil society organizations, corporate bodies and all of us to lend a helping hand. Government on the other hand should immediately cut down the size of government to 40 ministers, adopt prudent resource management and fight corruption head-on to eliminate wastage and make savings to fund targeted programs. Even Though the PPP believes in Ghana and still believe that going back to the IMF for policy credibility to fix our self-inflicted economic crises is nothing but a lazy and admission of leadership failure, we will still encourage government to put Ghana first throughout the negotiations. We call on Ghanaians to embrace change by joining the PPP to reinvent Ghana and make it work again. Long live the progressive peoples party, long live Ghana, thank you and may god richly bless us all.
Signed:
(Regional secretary)
0242682393/0246218886
