REBRANDING THE CPP IN THE COUNTRY...THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW!

Article by: Austin Brako (University of Ghana, Legon)

The Convention People’s Party since its formation in the 1989 undoubtedly played such a strong role in the independence struggle and eventual independence of Ghana.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first Prime Minister and President of the Gold Coast now Ghana founded the party as a mass based body with the aim of integrating the country under a bonafide structure for easy mobilization.

This decision was taken at the expense of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) which was seen as having a close alliance and for being over lenient with the colonial establishment led by the doyen of Ghana’s politics, Dr. J B Danquah.

Horrible as it was, the young country, Ghana was not allowed to enjoy the blessing of its independence which manifested in shoe, tyre, rubber, and tomato factories, the Akosombo Dam, the Tema Shipping dock, and the telecommunication industry which the erstwhile NPP disposed off like a piece of rubbish among others.

The February 24, 1966 coup dealt a terrible blow to the young country, Ghana. The schemers; Col. Kotoka and Afrifa stole the pride of Ghana by their “stupid” action in the name of liberating Ghanaians.

The party right from the day it was banned in the country to the lifting of the ban by the Rawlings-led-NDC-administration has not found its footing in the Ghanaian political soil as was in the past.

Several reasons conspire to make the story of the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) a sour one.

At the epicenter was the abysmal performance of Papa Kwesi Ndoum the flagbearer for the party in the 2008 General Election which saw the election of Prof. John Evans Attah Mills of the NDC.

Personally, I believe Ndoum and Prof. Akosa by their actions and inactions dealt a terrible blow to the survival of the party culminating in the less than 1% performance of the CPP in the 2008 General Election.

Any attempt at rebranding and regaining power by the party must be deep and cutting and must be written with the blood of the youth who have been the backbone of the CPP of the pre and post independence era.

The positions of shadow ministers are not bad, to say, but rather the inability on the part of “ministers” to interact constantly with the Ghanaian populace will become a problem and prove the shadow cabinet “stuff” moribund if care is not taken.

I again think that, CPP groups on various tertiary campuses must be revived immediately to champion the recruitment of freshly-blooded youth into the party’s fold.

These must be some of our priorities as a party yearning for the mandate of the impoverished Ghanaian public being duped constantly by the Mills-led-administration.

By doing the above and beyond, the party gets inched towards victory in 2012.