Statement

29th November 2011
Greetings dear Comrades, colleagues and members of the media gathered here.
1. Introduction
I thank you for coming out to listen to us. The new leadership of the CPP would have come to meet you earlier but we wanted to attend to some outstanding internal party matters, participate in a few national events and also for me to fulfill a number of international engagements, all of which are in the greater interest of the party. I want to take this opportunity therefore to not only update you on some of our plans and activities but to also break my silence on certain calculated attempts to discredit the new leadership of the party

2. Our Plan
Let me begin by stating what the new leadership considered as its priorities for developing the party. We have prioitised
· Increasing the visibility and profile of the party
· Reconstituting the Central Committee
· Launching a Membership Drive
· Delivering party paraphernalia – Create visibility
· Begin polling station organisation
Strengthening the Party at all levels
· Opening offices in all constituencies and Regione As needed
· Holding Outstanding Regional Congresses
· Conclude Legal disputes
· Fundraising in the name of the Party for the Party

3. The plans of the new leadership for taking the party forward.

We believe that these activites must precede our next Congress. We want to avoid the mistakes of the last General Election which only obtained 1.3 per cent of national vote for our Presidential candidate and a single MP.

· Today, we will finalise formation of remaining committees headed by their respective Chairpersons. They will work on Ideological Clarity to sharpen our message and make it relevant to today’s global and national circumstances and challenges.

It needs to be made clear that CPP stands for regaining control over
our economy so that we can transform it to serve the interests of
our people.

· As from December we are beginning a tour of the regions to sit and discuss with our members our prioroties and the ways in which we intend to galvanise our party for next year’s elections

4. What we have done so far

Raising the party’s international profile

I have just returned from a successful trip to Italy where CPP launched the Italian language edition of Africa Must Unite for which the Italian President, Giorgio Napoletano wrote the preface. Joining us for this launch were H.E. Anita Stokes-Hayford, Ghana’s Ambassador to Italy, former Italian Prime MInister and former EU Commissioner, Romano Prodi, and several other notable Italian politicians including Emma Boninno, Deputy Speaker of the Italian Senate.

Why was this important? For those of you who may not have read the book, Africa Must Unite presents an accurate detail of the important ideas of Osagyefo, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on how to integrate African economies for our survival and creating a viable Africa through self- reliance. These ideas form part of what the CPP stands for – taking control of our economy. Neither Ghana nor Africa exists in isolation and it is significant that the hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians and Africans living in the African Diaspora of Italy get to read this book.

This initiative and several other similar acitivities that we have undertaken since I assumed the chairmanship and leadership of our Party are intended to reconnect the CPP with its international links and raise our visibility in the course of rebuilding our force. I also took the opportunity to meet with the Ghanaian community in the city of Brescia, in Northern Italy. It was encouraging to know that they remain as passionate about issues in Ghana as we are and it was important to answer questions about Parliament, the economy and other issues.

Raising the CPP’s national profile

Now let me turn my attention to what we have been doing since the new leadership assumed office here in Ghana. The new leadership has been busy reaching out to our grassroots and the wider public by visiting several regions. Amongst others, we have participated in several important festivals across the country including the Hogbetsoto, Dzodze Palm festival and the Manya Krobo Nmayem festival, to mention but a few. We have also visited flood victims in some parts of Accra and the victims of the recent Kokompe fire outbreak. In all these events we made donations on behalf of the Party to express solidarity with those affected. We have also visited the National Chief Imam to express our condolences on the death of his brother. We also helped organise the funeral of the late Ebenezer Adam a CPP stalwart in Tamale and used the opportunity to meet with our party people. I have addressed the Student Representive Council of KNUST and together with my fellow executives visited the chiefs and people of the Zongo communities in Kumasi, one of our traditional bases. We have also addressed students of the School of Journalism and spoke on the need for relevant and responsible journalism.

I could list other things that we have done as, for example the address on empowering women, at the Adehye Hall of the University of Cape Coast. But, let me stop here and say we have done all these as the new CPP and used each opportunity to reach out to the wider public and in the process demonstrated our genuine interest in and connection to the people of Ghana.

3. Breaking silence on the orchestrated negative media campaign

I now want to turn my attention today, to a number of issues that are already in the public domain, and break my silence on certain developments which are detrimental to the morale of our supporters, sympathizers and well-wishers. Prominent amongst these is the call by one section of the Party led by Paa Kwesi Nduom , our former flag-bearer, for us to hold Congress to elect our presidential candidate before the end of the year.

Over the past month a negative campaign has been orchestrated against the leadership but particularly viciously singling me the chairperson out for condemnation. These orchestrated efforts started with a spate of negative publicity in the form of articles with headlines such as (1) What are Samia and the New CPP Leadership doing to the Party?; (2) CPP for Doom; 3) CPP Executives Sabotaging the Party, etc. All of these have appeared within the month of November.

Friends and Comrades, if these are indeed concerns of genuine party members why should they be directed at the media rather than to the national executives? How does maligning our leadership in the public domain serve the interests of the Party? By the rules that govern our party as indeed all organisations, grievances have to be addressed internally, in the first instance. (I can recall that on our swearing in, our former Chairman promised that there would be no more insults.)

In recent days this systematic and orchestrated attempt to undermine the authority and agenda of the Leadership has culminated in a threat to convene an emergency NEC without recourse to the leadership, including announcing on radio and TV the date for the supposed NEC. Is this not an act of indiscipline which is meant to discredit the party? Particularly as all other presidential aspirants are prepared to help the new leadership prepare the ground for the congress to be held in the first quarter of next year? Other aspirants are prepared to help the new leadership.

Before arriving at any decision on behalf of the party I have always sought consensus and I am happy to say that the majority of the party is behind me. Our party is not divided and what is percieved as division, is what I as Leader and Chairperson of the party, consider as indiscipline, selfishness and an attempt to impose a course of action on the whole party by Paa Kwesi Nduom; a course of action that in the past has only got our presidential candidate 1.3% of the national vote. This is unacceptable.

We, the new leadership of the party were elected to advance strategies that will make the party a credible politcal force and we wish to reiterate here we will not waver in this task. We will not be stampeded into taking actions that do not advance the interests of the party. Let me make it clear that NEC cannot convene because our National Executive Council is not fully constituted yet. The General Secreatary has already explained the processes involved in this.

As you are no doubt aware, there was consensus that there should be a six months’ interval between the congress to elect national officers and the election of the flagbearer.

Organising a congress takes time and as we all saw recently, the National Congress to elect the National executives that was supposed to take place in March 2011 was postponed several times and finally took place in September of this year. This means that to organize a successful congress the new executives will need at least a few months before our next congress.

It is my humble view since taking office that the first priority of the new executives is to organize the Party at the polling station level and motivate our activists without the distraction or disruption of competing interests for the flagbearship. This is what selfish and sectarian interests wish to disrupt and they must not be allowed to succeed.

5.Conlusion:

Our insistence on re-organising and strengthening our Party is motivated by our intention to present Ghanaians with a credible political alternative and this includes offering Ghanaians a credible presidential candidate for 2012.

The CPP has to offer Ghana politicians of integrity and sincerity. These are the characteristics we want to see in our presidential candidate, someone who Ghanaians can trust because politics in my opinion is all about trust. A candidate who is consistent with his or her pronouncements. A candidate who is working closely with the Party and does not foment discord within the Party. A candidate who inspires our activists to sacrifice. We want to break away from the selfish way of doing politics.

We the present leadership are endeavouring to change the party for better and not to remain as we are. Ours is a mandate of change and revival and this is what, with your support, we intend to do. Ladies and gentlemen our Party is facing a moment of decision. We can either continue with business as usual which in effect means unfulfilled potential or seize the moment and make a stand for clarity and sincerity.

I want us to offer Ghanaians something different that can advance our electoral fortunes. I want all well wishers inside and outside the party to be clear of what the challenges before the party are and to support us make this all important difference.

Let us make a decisive stand to act as men and women of conviction and principle. Let us remember that this party was built on selflessness and self-determination and for freedom from oppression and exploitation. We need your help to redeem this Party so that we can provide Ghanaians with politicians and the programmes to contribute to Ghana’s transformation. The CPP must change to pursue this agenda of equality.

Samia Yaba Nkrumah,MP

Leader and Chairperson