Which Direction, Dr. Nduom And CPP?

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has been engaged in a re-organisation of sorts these past six months. Constituency and regional elections are going on at this time. The Volta Region, Greater Accra and Upper West are the regions with the most work to do and are yet to organize constituency elections. In the case of the Central Region, a court case filed by some disgruntled members of the party has necessitated a replay of constituency elections that were nearly completed over two months ago.

All of this is against the backdrop of a party which captured the imagination and admiration of many Ghanaians during the 2008 elections and yet ended up with a miserable 1.3% of presidential votes and one member of parliament; The member of parliament, to some, won because of sympathy for her father in a “safe” constituency, Jomoro.
So far, four regions have held conferences to elect new regional executives. The results so far are clear. The talk of Akosa, Akwettey, Aggudey, Samia and Delle factions have remained just that – talk. There is only one influential factor, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom. It has become such that candidates who want to win election at constituency and regional levels now present themselves as Nduom supporters to have a greater chance of success. The proof of this is that the majority of executives elected so far have won the support and endorsement of Dr. Nduom. Chances are that this fact will become even more apparent as regional elections move to Central, Western, Volta, Brong Ahafo and Greater Accra regions where the former Presidential Candidate is considered to have a lot of support.

My point is that the CPP has a great opportunity to be the party of choice for many Ghanaians particularly independents or floating voters who are looking for a greater sense of national purpose and results orientation in their government. These attributes are said to be lacking in the NDC and NPP administrations that have ruled Ghana in the 4th Republic. Many Ghanaians faced with the prospect of low performing President Mills as the NDC candidate for 2012 and a rather elusive and lethargic Nana Akufo-Addo, would prefer a more active, results-oriented presidential candidate and a party that can energise the country to better performance. So is the CPP ready to take on the challenge? Can the party of independence rise up and take advantage of this opportunity?
This is where the CPP and Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom must come to a serious accommodation to get the CPP there in 2012 and beyond. There is no question that in Dr. Nduom, the CPP has a unique individual who is truly liked by many Ghanaians. Sure there is a vocal few, set in their ideological ways who are threatened by Dr. Nduom’s commitment to inclusiveness in Ghanaian society. The young people like him for the stance and innovative ideas he has to create jobs and educate all Ghanaians. Women like him for the family values and Christian virtues he tries to live by. They love the way he moves with his wife and takes care of his children. Business people appreciate his exemplar position on government using its purchasing power and authority to give Ghanaian businesses an advantage in their own country. Even his detractors admit that he has stood by the country and created jobs – over 1,800 in the hotel, real estate, financial services and technology areas. Ordinary people like the fact that he sacrificed a six figure American dollar based income to join government in 2001 to serve his country and earn less than 10% his annual salary as a minister. The people in the northern part of the country know that he is the only businessman in Ghana who has consistently invested in all the three regions – Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions with increasing success and even going to places like Yendi and Bawku to create jobs. Even when he was grilled in 2001 over allegations of impropriety when serving as a consultant to the State Enterprises Commission, many people became his admirers at the calm, competent way he handled himself and answered successfully the questions posed by his detractors. In the end, Parliament cleared him of the allegations stemming from an unpublished report. Still, discerning Ghanaians love his humility. Dr. Nduom is one of a tiny percentage of Ghanaians who chose to start their political career from the bottom by going to seek election as an Assembly Member, then going to Parliament in 2005 after serving admirably in government as Economic Planning and Energy Minister.
Dr. Nduom is reputed as “Mr. Fix It” due to his penchant for working with a sense of urgency to solve whatever problem that came his way in government. It is this “can do” attitude that made it possible for him to lead in the preparation of the first Poverty Reduction Strategy that won Ghana billions in debt forgiveness. That is why after several false starts, it was Dr. Nduom who brought home the $547 million Millennium Challenge money that is benefitting many people in the Volta, Ashanti, Central, Eastern and Northern Regions. In fact, any time Ghanaians the 6 lane highway being constructed from Tetteh Quarshie to Mallam, they must throw a salute to Dr. Nduom as it was his insistence over official objections in government that this part of the project was added to the Ghanaian compact.

So what is the problem between Dr. Nduom and the CPP? Why did some people go out of their way to destroy the party’s 2008 campaign to embarrass Dr. Nduom? It is said that virtually all the national executives of the CPP and the flagbearer contestants not only boycotted the campaign deliberately, many actually went out of their way to discredit Dr. Nduom and hence destroyed the chances of the CPP. One flagbearer contestant ran away abroad to avoid being seen with Dr. Nduom. Others worked to discourage people from donating funds to the CPP and good parliamentary candidates from joining the race.
To some of these people, a successful business man and professional cannot be an Nkrumaist as he was not “socialist” enough. He was branded a CIA agent. They felt he would “sell” the party to the enemies of Kwame Nkrumah. They wanted to humiliate him and hound him out of the CPP. These people were led by Lawyer F. A. Jantuah a former Minister in the First Republic who was sacked by Kwame Nkrumah and Lucy Ennin who was given a seat in Parliament by Nkrumah as part of an affirmative action initiative to put women in the legislature. The National Youth Organiser of the CPP and others were vocal partners in this conspiracy. Many have wondered why Dr. Nduom stays with the CPP against such opposition. Part of the answer is that the ordinary members of the CPP overwhelmingly support Dr. Nduom and gave him their votes at Congress. And this is where the substance of the argument is. The people who make up the majority of the CPP today are “Nduom people”. This has made the elections going on today a contest between an elite group of lawyers, doctors and professors on one side and the regular Nduom people made up of teachers, traders, students and young professionals on the other.
It is clear that if the CPP is going to take advantage of the opportunity available today to organize itself to be a serious contender in 2012, it must admit the obvious. Dr. Nduom has put his mark squarely on the post-1966 CPP. To all intents and purposes, when the name CPP is mentioned in politics today in Ghana, the person who comes to mind readily is Dr. Nduom, popularly known as “Edwumawura”. There is no other force in the party to match his appeal and commitment as he is the one who has helped many find jobs, consoled a lot of party people at funerals across the country, has invested in opening offices, funding party activities and generally keeping the CPP alive with his many youth groups who have come to be known as “movement” people.

After the July 23/24th Congress, the CPP can make a choice to recognize the influence of Dr. Nduom as the dominant factor and the one to lead the party to greater strength and competitiveness. Dr. Nduom will also have a decision to make to forge a new direction with the ordinary members he has attracted over the years. It would not be the first time in Ghanaian political history.

Benjamin Nketsiah
CPP Activist
Akuapim South
[email protected]