NDC Selfish! – Rawlings Booms

Former President Jerry John Rawlings says the National Democratic Congress (NDC) he founded has been taken over by selfish people.

According to him, the NDC must wean itself of selfish tendencies and desire to seek political power for economic benefit.

For him “that cancer has eaten deeply into our party. Let us pursue truth with a conscience and the power of conviction – a belief in the ideals that established this party; a belief in the battles that we had to fight since 1979 and a quest to embrace ideas in an atmosphere of tolerance and brotherliness.”

Mr. Rawlings, who appears to be on a mission to unearth the factors that led to the 2016 humiliating defeat of the party, was emphatic that the strength of the NDC lies in attaining political power through the power of the people, and not the power of the affluent.

He argued that if the NDC relegates its true ideals “we may attain power on a weak foundation and never be able to manage the country in an atmosphere of true participatory governance, which is what our successes have always thrived on”.

Divided NDC

“The NDC was not a unified party in 2016. The NDC was not in touch with the grassroots in 2016. The NDC was not a bastion of stability in 2016 and the NDC, sadly, did not inspire confidence in the majority of Ghanaians in 2016”.

According to him, for the party to win the 2020 elections, it needs to restore confidence in order to assure Ghanaians that it has the country at heart.

Mr. Rawlings, in an address read on his behalf by a leading member of the party, Samuel Nuamah Donkor, at a conference organized by former NDC Municipal and District Chief Executives in Accra over the weekend noted that the common denominator in the aforementioned flaws, were “the lack of conscience and conviction in our dealings with the electorate.”

The former president indicated that the NDC is doing a lot to be heard in the public space but questioned whether the party is resolving the issues that led to the party’s defeat in the previous polls.

“The NDC is doing its best to put the government on its toes but are we doing our homework well? Are we doing enough to inspire confidence amongst our own sympathisers? Are we doing enough to convince the vast floating voter constituency?” he quizzed.

Backbiting

Mr. Rawlings further criticised members of the party for undermining one another.

“We seem to have become masters of destroying our own and spend endless resources denigrating rivals because their opinions vary. Some of the words that have been exchanged between party members in the past few weeks and months make me wonder how we expect to sow unity and stability in the National Democratic Congress”.

In his view, the voice and force of conscience and conviction is the only true weapon that the party needs to re-organise itself towards 2020 and beyond.

“Our history, strength and survival have always hinged on the power of conviction – a firm belief in the pursuit of truth, integrity, probity and accountability” he said adding that “having a voice of conscience and conviction comes with true sacrifice. It is not an easy road. Those who hold strong beliefs and stand by them tend to suffer abuse, ridicule, insult and sometimes physical abuse but they remain resolute because truth cannot be adulterated. Truth is life and the truth eventually overcome”.

Painful loss

“The NDC’s contribution to the socio-political stability of Ghana was due to our desire to embrace participatory governance, allowing the grassroots to have a significant say in the branches, wards, constituency, regional and national affairs. Today many of those who hold high office in the party are personalities who first identified their leadership qualities from wards and branches.”

The former president stated that the ideals that guided and projected them to leading party figures were their unparalleled conscience, sense of conviction and unbridled desire to sacrifice for God and country.

He concluded: “Ladies and gentlemen, we suffered a painful loss in 2016 and while it is important that we do not allow that loss to retard our progress, we also have to recognize the truth in what lost us the election and exorcise our party of the ills that made us lose in spite of the considerable resources at our disposal.”

By: Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson